


World Wanderer | Tumbleweed

by Factory_Manager



Series: World Wanderer | Volume 2 [1]
Category: No Fandom, Original Work
Genre: Dragons, Fantasy, Freeform, Gen, Help Wanted, Minor Character Death, No Beta, Non-binary character, Original Character - Freeform, Original Character(s), Original Fiction, Original Universe, Reluctant Protagonist, Science Fiction, Slow Burn, Western, world wanderer
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-08
Updated: 2020-07-16
Packaged: 2021-02-27 12:41:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 36,467
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22217197
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Factory_Manager/pseuds/Factory_Manager
Summary: Coal Grove is a simple little town that sits in a small desert area, far off from the main roads that connect the larger cities. The town's residents are pleasant and more than welcoming to any newcomers who happen to wander into town. Most of the older citizens have been affected by a long-gone disease that’s robbed them of their eyesight, but everyone else makes accommodations. With little technology and plenty of equine and canine companions to go around, life is good here. The only real danger is the coyote problem that's only an issue at night. But with a strict curfew and a tight community, what's the worse that can happen?Sol and the others have arrived in a town in the hopes of figure out what to do with themselves next. While Ashe searches for a colleague of his, the rest are left to decide whether they want to settle here or try somewhere else. With wounds of past events still fresh, everyone is looking for a way to distract themselves and lessen the pain. But of course soon enough the calm nature of the small town shifts. People begin to disappear and the coyotes are appearing more often in town. Can Ashe's associate says he can fix it, but he needs Sol's help.
Series: World Wanderer | Volume 2 [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2019769





	1. Chapter 1

I had my face in a book that I had already reread many times already. I didn't want to take the time to rummage through our boxes and risk moving too many things out of place that I couldn't put back, so I resigned myself to reading my one book. It was of fictional journal entries from a man whose family was being haunted by ghosts. It had been interesting enough on my first read-through. Now I just used it as a distraction from the quiet around me.

Neither Zero-zero nor Ninety-one had spoken in a long while. Not since we stopped with Ashe and Quince to rest. They were in a pickup ahead of us. Sometimes, I wondered if it was quiet there too.

We've been driving for over a day now. We were heading to a small town to meet someone from Recall, an organization Ashe was a part of. They worked to understand the strange and chaotic world we lived in. I didn't know exactly what this person could do for us, but we had nowhere else to go. We'd been essentially kicked out of our home. It had been my fault. One mistake after another had forced us from Burilmont and out here.

I forced myself to read the words on the page to push the thoughts from my head. Reading didn't cause problems. Reading couldn't get people forced out of their homes. It was the perfect, harmless distraction. The only times I wasn't drowning myself in it was when we'd stop for a break to stretch out legs.

We would signal when we needed those breaks with a honk. It was usually Ashe that did it. Out here between cities, with nothing but grassy lands and trees, we could stop in the middle of the road. No one else ever came by. When night came we ended up resting for hours. We didn't see a single person the entire time. It was surprising that there was even a road out here. It wasn't new by any means. There were plenty of cracks and weeds growing in it, but it also hadn't been worn by use either.

The only indication that I received that we'd crossed into a new area was a light hum from Ninety-one and the sudden jolting of the van. Looking up to see out the window, I realized that it hadn't been Zero-zero's driving. The road was now nothing more than a dirt path through the grass. All around us was a field of the orange-brown plant. It almost looked like dirt.

Far ahead, past Ashe's grey truck, I could see the hazy shape of the town. After a few minutes, we passed a large wooden sign with the words 'Welcome to Coal Grove' decoratively carved into it.

As we neared the town, we noticed that there was a short wooden fence that seemed to surround it. The town was small. None of the buildings reached more than two floors high. From what I could tell, everything had been built from wood. I'd never seen such a small society like this before. I'd best describe it as western-like, mostly telling by how closely it resembled pictures and descriptions I'd encountered in a book once.

Ashe parked at the fence and we did the same. I sat Hue inside my backpack to hide him from prying eyes. We all got out and gathered between the two vehicles. Stepping in it, I realized that the off-colored grass wasn't dead as I had assumed. From the way it felt and moved, it was very much alive.

From within the town, we could see people walking around. Amongst them were horses and dogs. A few of the people watched us as we stopped at the fence. Most of them were children, the adults didn't appear to care enough to glance in our direction. The same could not be said for the animals. They were curious enough to stop and watch us.

"Why are they watching us?" Quince asked as she moved to stand by me.

"Yes. That happens more often than not when entering a new town," Ashe said, passing a glance at the locals. "They aren't crowding around or stopping, so that's a good sign."

"The animals are," Ninety-one said.

Ashe glanced back at them. "That's odd, I'll admit. But animals are usually more curious than people. They get bored of us soon enough."

"Where do we go from here?" Zero-zero asked.

"First, we'll need to find a hotel or inn to stay at, at least for tonight. Afterward, you all can look around while I try to find my colleague. This town isn't very large, so that shouldn't take too much time."

"Have you been here before?" Ninety-one asked.

Ashe shook his head. "No, but I've read the file on it. The town is safe and the people are friendlier than most."

"What's the bad part about it?" Zero-zero asked. "I thought there were no truly safe places in the world."

"That's why we have someone from Recall investigating this place. For now, all he's reported is that there's a bit of a coyote issue. But they only come out at night."

Zero-zero nodded but said nothing else. I could tell that he was skeptical. I was too. Without someone controlling the core of this place, it will fall to destruction. Just as Heita and Goldsboro did. Apparently, one day everywhere else would follow.

The four of us followed Ashe's lead as we stepped over the short fence and into the town. Looking around, I noticed that the clothing that everyone had on was somewhat similar. All the shirts were button up, in either plaid or solid colors. Pants consisted of either blue or black jeans. Several people wore large brimmed hats, mostly in black or brown with a few having a white one.

A horse passed close to us. It was mostly brown with a streak of white down his face. The animal was walking alone and no one else around us seemed to mind. It curiously leaned its head over to smell at Ninety-one, who stepped away from it. I was sure none of us except for Ashe had seen a horse before. Having one deciding to walk up to us on its own wasn't the best introduction. Luckily, it soon wandered off just as suddenly as it had approached.

The other horses around were accompanied by people. Some were being ridden, while others were pulling large wooden carts with spoked wheels. Dirt and dust kicked up behind them as they passed over the dirt-covered ground. There didn't appear to be any paved roads in the town. It made sense given that there weren't any vehicles to drive on them. After living in Burilmont for as long as I did, it was odd to not be surrounded by towering buildings with bright, flashing signs.

Wooden steps creaked as we walked up to a windowless building with the word 'inn' painted on the front. A small bell chimed when we entered the building. The room was lit by candles that sat on metal sconces. The flames were held within glass tubes.

The front area was rather small, with four chairs set against the front wall. They, like everything in the room, were made from wood. The seat cushions were made from a brown and white material that didn't match each other. Before us stood a small desk, also made from wood, with no one behind it. On top of it sat a large leather-bound book and a pen.

"Coming," shouted a voice from somewhere passed the open area to the left of the desk. From what I could see there was a thin hallway that split between a staircase that led upwards, and an area that sat behind the wall on the other side of the desk.

A small black and brown dog with a white stomach came around the corner. It stopped and gave each of us a look over, before heading behind the desk. The dog jumped up onto one of the two chairs that sat behind it. They set their head on the desk and closed their eyes.

"The dog didn't talk, right?" Quince whispered to me. I wanted to say no, that dogs didn't talk or run small hotels. But I didn't know enough about this town or dogs to be sure.

Was there a city where dogs talked and ran everything like humans? Did they have human pets or would humans not exist there? How would they react to us being there if we ever stumbled upon it? Would Hue be able to talk in this dog city?

Before my thoughts could get any further away from me, a girl in her early teens came around to sit at the desk. She had brown hair that was braided back behind her. She wore jeans and a red button-up shirt. Her skin was a warm brown color that could have been caused by being out in the sun.

"Hello," she said with a smile. Her voice carried an accent that I had never heard before. "My name’s Lora. How can I help y'all?"

"We were hoping to get a few rooms here," Ashe said.

"Okay," Lora said happily, "How many do you want? One for each or are some of you going to double up? Rooms only come with up to two beds in 'em."

"We'll take three then," Ashe said.

"I'll share with Sol," Ninety-one said.

"Wouldn't it be better if they shared a room with Quince? They know each other better after all," Zero-zero suggested.

Ninety-one glanced over to Quince but said nothing. He hadn't said much of anything to her since we left Burilmont. He wasn't speaking much in general, but he was specifically quiet towards her. Not that he spoke much to Ashe either.

"Alright then, here are your keys. All the rooms are upstairs," I heard Lora say.

Ashe thanked her and returned to us with five keys in his hand. Each key was attached to a plastic tag with white numbers printed on them.

"All the rooms are next to each other, we won't be far apart. So who is staying with who?"

"Ninety-one and I will be sharing," Zero-zero said. Ashe handed them both a key.

"I guess Sol and I are rooming together then," Quince said. The Key Ashe handed me had the number two on it. Glanced at the numbers on the other keys, I realized that we sat between the other two rooms.

"Should we go ahead and get out things into our rooms?" Ashe asked.

"We might as well," Ninety-one muttered.

"Are y'all the ones that rode up in those metal carts?" Lora asked from the desk.

"Yeah," Quince answered for us.

"Well, there's a guy coming here in about fifteen minutes or so to drop off some vegetables. I'm sure he wouldn't mind helping out. That way you won't have to carry your things so far and all."

"I wouldn't mind that," Ash said, looking to Zero-zero and Ninety-one.

"That's fine by me," Zero-zero agreed. Ninety-one just nodded.

"We can check out our rooms in the meantime," Quince suggested.

Again Ashe took the lead as we headed upstairs. The stairs ended at a hallway that reached to the back of the building where it turned to the right. Our rooms were just off the stairs.

Each of us went to our respective rooms. My and Quince's room was relatively small, with enough space for two small beds and a wooden table with two chairs at it. The walls were covered in wooden panels, with the floors made with something similar but more smooth and polished. Near the door to the room stood two others. One lead into a closet that also housed a small dresser-like piece of furniture, and the other to the bathroom. There wasn't a single window to the room.

Quickly losing interest in the room, I went to get a look at Ninety-one and Zero-zero's room. It was the exact same, with the exception of were the table was located. Zero-zero was looking into the closet by the door. Ninety-one glanced up at me from his spot on the edge of the bed. He gave a weak smile.

"Do you want to look around the town for a while later on?" Zero-zero asked.

"Maybe. I want to rest first." His gaze moved back to me, "How's the room?"

"It's fine. It is basically the same as this one."

Zero-zero stepped away from the closet and looked at me. "I should have asked first, but are you alright with sharing a room with Quince."

"I don't mind. It’s not like we're far from each other anyway."

Zero-zero nodded and glanced at Ninety-one, who was looking over the room. I wanted to go sit next to him but decided against it. I doubted that he wanted comfort from me of all people.

"He just needs time to adjust," Zero-zero in a low voice.

"I'm sorry about this," I whispered back.

"Don't be, this isn't your fault. We'll figure this out." I didn't believe him but nodded regardless.

Regardless of what he or Ninety-one said, I was the one that had gotten us into this. Intentional or not I caused this. This was my fault.

“Hey!” Lora's voice shouted from somewhere down the stairs. “Mr. Harrington is here to help you with your things.

The five of us returned downstairs to see a man now standing in front of the desk and petting Lora’s dog. He must have been Harrington. He was tall with dark brown skin. His long hair styled into thin dreadlocks that hung loosely at his back. He was dressed in dark jeans and a plaid grey shirt.

Upon hearing us come down the stairs. When he turned to face, we were met with clouded grey eyes. He wasn’t facing us directly, as if he wasn’t able to tell specifically were we were. In any case, he still smiled and greeted us.

“Heya. Ms. Lora here says that y’all need some help?”

“Yes, if you don’t mind,” Ashe said.

He stepped forward but was stopped by a dog walking in front of him. The dog was mostly a light grey-brown color, with darker brown spots on their back and sides, and white on their chest, paws, and stomach. With their long-haired tail wagging, the dog trotted around us excitedly.

Quince was happy to reach down to pet the colorful dog, but they wouldn’t stay in one spot long enough. I, on the other hand, was getting anxious. Hue was still in my backpack. Though he hadn’t done much besides shift a little, I couldn’t help but remember our last encounter with a dog.

“Come here,” Harrington said in a commanding, yet playful tone. “Give these people some space.”

“What’s their name?” Quince asked.

“Her name’s Honey Bun. It has been a long while since she’s met anyone new, so she’s excited,” he explained. “Anyway, you need help moving something?”

“Yes,” Ashe answered. “A few boxes and bags from our cars.”

“They came in from outside town in metal carriages,” Lora said excitedly.

“Yeah, I heard. Almost everyone in town is talking about it,” Harrington said with a deep laugh.

“Why would people be talking about us arriving here?” Zero-zero asked.

“Coal Grove doesn’t get visitors. Not since the mines closed down way back when,” Harrington clarified.

“That one man came here two weeks back. He’s still hanging around,” Lora added.

“I’m looking for him,” Ashe said, “He’s a colleague of mine.”

“Is he?” Harrington said. “If I ever run into him, I’ll tell him.”

“Thanks, but I hope to be able to find him later today.”

“The town isn’t that big, so you just might. Though, I’ve heard he likes to hang around outside of the fence. Your best bet is early morning or before sunset. But that’s just what I’ve heard.” Ashe only nodded to this. “Anyway, show me where those cars or yours are and I’ll happily help carry your things.”

The dog, Honey Bun, went to her owner's side as Ashe led him out of the inn. Standing outside of the building was a beige-colored horse with large white spots. It was a large wooden cart with six barrels sitting atop it.

“All of you can ride in the back if you want,” Harrington offered as he walked up to the side of the horse. I looked to Ninety-one and he only shrugged.

The trip back to the vehicle filled with as many looks and stares as the walk from them. This time, I now noticed that there were other people like Harrington with hazed over eyes. Everyone who had those kinds of eyes wasn’t looking at us. Not directly anyway. Maybe it was just a characteristic that the people here had. Did it mean that their eyesight was poor or were they just trying not to be obvious with how they were watching us?

“So what brings y’all here to our cozy little town?” Harrington asked, raising his voice so that we were able to hear him.

We all looked at each other before Ashe spoke up. “We’re just passing through for a bit. To see my friend mostly.”

Harrington nodded. “Your friend has been quite the talk ever since he arrived here. You will be too. So I apologize in advance for any odd questions or stares you’ll receive. More so on the questions. Your friend wasn’t very talkative, and with so many of y’all, people might be a bit more pushy with you.”

“We’ll keep that in mind,” Ashe said.

Once we reached the van and truck, Harrington positioned the cart so that it was next to the small fence. It admittedly took longer to get there than it did to load up our boxes and bags. In half an hour we were back at the inn and unloading our things from the cart. Once we had emptied our things from it, Harrington gave us a parting nod.

“I hope your stay here is a good one.”


	2. Chapter 2

Since we had only taken what we needed out of the vehicles, it hadn't taken long to pack our clothes into the desk and closet. While we rested in our rooms, Ashe went out to find his colleague.

I was laying over my bed with my shoes off, with Hue resting over my chest. He was watching Quince, who had her back to us. She'd gotten tired of Hue staring her down. The room was quiet, save for the low voices coming from the other side of the wall. Ninety-one and Zero-zero were talking. Their voices were too muffled to hear what they were saying. But at least it didn't sound like arguing. Maybe the walls were just thin.

I drifted in and out of sleep for a bit. Without a window, it was hard to tell how much time had passed. At some point, Lora came by to tell us that she and her partner would be serving dinner downstairs in an hour. Beef and vegetable soup was being made. When the time came it was Ninety-one that came to take us down. Before leaving, I left Hue some food and water in two bowls that I got from the van.

Lora was waiting for us at the bottom of the steps. She led us to a dining area that sat on the other side of the wall behind the front desk. Half of the room was a kitchen, with the rest of the space taken up by two long tables setups. At one of the tables sat an older couple. The first of the two women had long brown hair similar to Lora's. The other had short dark blonde hair.

When we entered the room the women turned towards us. Just like Clay, their eyes were clouded over. Two dogs came from under their table. They observed us calmly before Lora's dog came bounding up to them. The two of them greeted the younger dog happily.

"Hello," the one with brown hair greeted. "You must be the guests Lora told us about. My name's Mary. This is my wife, Rosalie."

"'Afternoon," Rosalie smiled. "Come, have a seat. We're about to start eating.

"Thank you for having us," Ninety-one said as he sat down.

One the table sat several bowls of what looked to be meat and vegetable stew. Next to the bowls sat cups filled with iced tea. We thanked them for the food and began eating. There was a bowl off to the side that was unattended. Ashe hadn't returned yet.

"This is good," Zero-zero complimented.

"Thank you," Rosalie said "We made it with fresh vegetables that came in today.

"I helped," Lora said proudly.

"Not to pry, but did your friend mention when he would be coming back?" Mary asked.

"He didn't say anything about it, no," Zero-zero answered.

"It'll be getting dark soon," Mary continued. "I'm not sure if you folks know, the coyotes that come out at night."

"He told us about them," Quince said. "I'm sure he'll be back soon.

"I hope so," Rosalie said. "Those things are downright evil the way they attack. They'll take down a horse in minutes."

"Dear, they're just animals. There's no evil in them." Mary turned from her wife to us. "There isn't much out there for them to eat. The hunger drives them mad. It makes them desperate. They'll do anything to fill their stomachs."

"How long has it been like this?" Ninety-one asked.

"Oh, for generations now."

"Isn't there anything you can do about them?" Quince asked.

"Last time anyone tried to do anything about them, the whole town got cursed," Lora said.

"There's no curse," Rosalie chided.

"How else does everyone in town go blind in one night?"

"It was everyone," Rosalie corrected.

"What happened?" Quince asked.

Mary glanced at her daughter and sighed. "The story's gotten a bit twisted over time, but the just if it is, that a group of people some generations back went to the den of the coyotes. They didn't come back. The next day everyone twenty years and older woke up completely blind. Ever since anytime someone hits the age of twenty they lose their eyesight."

"See? Doesn't that sound like a curse?" Lora said while looking at us. "That's why everyone calls them evil."

"It isn't a curse," Rosalie repeated.

"What else would you call it?" Lora questioned.

"A sudden illness."

"Then why is it still happening? None of the doctors have been able to cure it yet."

"Just because there isn't a clear explanation yet, doesn't mean that superstition is the answer," Mary said. "Now quit with this, you're making our guests uncomfortable."

Lore quietly pouted and focused on her food. Everyone else seemed to do the same. Just as everywhere else, there was something strange about this place too. Coyotes that came at night to eat anyone left wandering outside. A curse of sorts that took away people's blindness.

"Will we go blind too?" Quince asked. I was curious myself but didn't want to bring it up.

Mary shot her daughter a look as Rosalie answered. "The man who came here before y'all came here, he seems to be doing fine. It's probably just a genetic thing from way back."

Quince nodded but said nothing more about it. The rest of dinner was fairly quiet, with only a bit of idle chatting here and there. Dinner was over by the time Ashe returned. We were partway up the stairs when he entered the inn.

"Did you find him?" Zero-zero asked.

"No, not yet," Ashe said with a shake of his head. "But I found out where he is staying. I'll try again tomorrow."

"I can reheat your food for you," Lora offered.

"I'd appreciate that, thank you."

"Oh, just a heads up," Rosalie added from the bottom of the stairs. "The coyotes get noisy during the night. So if you hear scratching tonight, it'll be them."

"Hopefully, they won't be too rowdy," Mary added.

She and Rosalie headed back down the first-floor hallway while Lora led Ashe to the dining room. The rest of us returned to our rooms to get ready for bed.

"Do you think the curse is real?" Quince asked as we settled for bed. She wore a short-sleeved nightshirt allowing me to clearly see the bandaging on her arm. I wondered how long it would be until the bute would be healed.

"I'm not sure. Things like that might be possible here." The room was dark save for the lamp that sat on the small table between our beds.

"I guess, but coyotes can't curse people. They're just animals."

I shrugged and lifted up the sheets so that Hue could crawl under them and get comfortable. He was on the side away from Quince. I shifted lower in the bed and turned my back toward the lamp. I petted Hue's head as he rested it on the pillow.

Curse or not, it did matter. It was something that happened a long time ago and had nothing to do with us. There wasn't a point in being concerned about it or the coyotes.

Quince turned out the light. "I'm going to ask around about it tomorrow. It'll be something to do while Ashe finds his friend."

Quiet fell over the room as I tried to fall asleep. I wasn't tired, but it did feel nice to be laying in a bed after being in the van for so long. Hue was already asleep. No new colors had appeared on his back yet. I was strangely glad about that.

Back in Burilmont, the colors on his backlit up when he used the city's core. If a new color appeared while we were here, would that mean he'd have access to Coal Grove's core too? He had colors from Heita as well. Did that mean he had it's core too? What could that one do? If it was anything like Burilmont's, it was better not to know.

None of that mattered anymore. The only thing important now was finding a new home to live in. I pushed all the thoughts from my mind and focused on relaxing. Hopefully, by the end of tomorrow, we will know what to do. Maybe there was a way we could live here?

A sound drew my mind from the edge of sleep. It sounded like something being dragged across the outer wall of the room, scratching against the wooden side as it went. It sounded large. The noise was continuous and without a pattern. It wasn’t an animal scratching against the wall. Not an animal I knew about anyway.

I was on my back, with Hue pressed against my side. In the darkness of the room, I could see that he was awake and watching the wall. Nothing was moving inside of the room. The sound grew louder, as whatever was making it moved further up the building. Then there were more of them. More things dragged themselves up the walls of the inn and onto the roof.

It turned my head to Quince. She was sitting up and watching the wall with wide, frightened eyes.

We both jumped as the door to our room opened. Ninety-one stepped in first, followed by Zero-zero and Ashe.

“What is that?” Quince whispered.

“Certainly not a coyote,” Zero-zero remarked.

“Are you okay?” Ninety-one asked as he reached my bed.

“Yes, I’m fine,” I told him. Whatever was out there hadn’t gotten inside.

“What should we do?” Quince asked.

“The Halwells haven’t left their rooms, so I’m guessing that this is the scratching that they were referring too,” Ashe said. “Coyotes or not, this is normal here.”

“You’re awfully calm about this,” Ninety-one remarked.

“I’ve been to many strange places and experienced much worse on my first night.”

“Comforting,” Zero-zero muttered.

“Anyway, I suggest we try to get some sleep.”

"Do you want to come to our room?" Ninety-one asked.

"No, I'll be fine." If this was normal then there was no point in being concerned about it.

"Okay. Come get me if you need anything."

I nodded. Not long after the three of them left, leaving Quince and me alone again. After a while, the darkness of the room became too much and Quince turned the lamp on. The scratching and dragging sounds continued throughout the night. Getting any sleep was impossible. It was hard to imagine living my whole life where this happens every night.

After many hours the sound ended. It was abrupt. Leaving deafening silence in its wake. Quince and I waited. For anything. Scratching, dragging, or something else. The anticipation made it all the worse. I reached to the table and grabbed my phone off of it. The time read a little past seven. The sun was beginning to rise.

"It's sunrise," I whispered. I didn't need to. There was no one else. No one to listen.

"Do you want to go look outside?" She whispered back. I sat up and nodded. I left Hue on the bed as we left our room.

The first floor was dimly lit by a few wall lamps. The front door was shut. It sat on black, metal tracks secured to the floor and ceiling. She only managed to get it open until for dusty wind and yellow-orange sunlight to slip through. She stopped and we waited, listening. Nothing but the sound of wind came from past the door.

Grabbed onto the large black handle, I helped her move the door back. Outside, the town was empty. No people or animals in sight. The buildings around us still had their doors shut. They all had the same type as the inn. The roads were filled with round plants that rolled across the ground with the wind. Some were as small as my hand, others the size of dogs. A few had made it up the steps to the inn.

Quince stepped out onto the wooden porch. Following her, I looked up at the side of the wall. There were no marks or evidence explaining what made the sound last night. Nothing had changed about it. I looked down at the nearest dried plant and nudged down the steps with my foot. It fell harmlessly to the discolored grass around the inn.

"I hope we don't have to stay here too long," Quince said. "I don't know how the people living here deal with that sound every night."

"They're used to it," I said before heading back inside.

I didn't know how I felt about this place. The scratching from last night was more than unnerving. But it was also normal for this place. The people here don't consider it much of a problem, so why should I? They've lived with it for generations. Whether it was coyotes or not, it was just how this town worked.

Ninety-one was talking with Zero-zero in the hallway when I arrived back upstairs. There was a look of worry in his eyes when he spotted me.

"Hey," he said as he walked up to me. "Where'd you go off to?"

"Quince and I wanted to look outside."

"Is there anything out there?" Zero-zero asked.

"No. Just dead plants rolling around."

"Rolling plants."

"Tumbleweeds, likely," Ashe said as he approached us from down the hall. "Apparently, they blow into town during the night."

"Do they have something to do with the 'coyotes' we heard last night?" Ninety-one asked.

"It's hard to say. I'm not familiar with this town. The Halwells might have more information. Anyway, I'm going to head out, I'll be back later on."

"I'm going to get dressed," I said once Ashe left.

"Would you like to look around the town with me?" Ninety-one asked. "Maybe we can find something fun to do."

"Okay."

Once I was washed up and dressed, I fed Hue before heading downstairs. Lora and her parents already had breakfast cooked and ready. I took a seat next to Ninety-one, were a hot plate of eggs and pancakes was waiting. Everyone said their 'good mornings' as we began eating.

"Did the other one already leave?" Mary asked. "Ashe, was it?"

"Yes. He wanted to get an early start," Zero-zero answered.

"His plate is going to go cold," Rosalie remarked.

"I'll eat it," Lora offered.

"Eat what you have first," Mary said with a smile.

"Thank you for cooking for us," Ninety-one said.

"Don't mention it. It's nice to have guests," Rosalie said. "Although, we won't be around for lunch, so you have to find somewhere around town to eat."

"That'll be fine. We were planning on looking around town anyway."

"Coal Grove is small, so there isn't much to do but I'm sure y'all will find something interesting."

Mary and Rosalie left first. Aside from running the inn, they helped out at one of the farms that sat outside of town. Without many people visiting this place, they only needed one person to run the inn. By the time we headed out the door, Lora was sitting at the front counter with her dog, Nutmeg at her side.

The streets were already beginning to fill with people and animals when we left the inn. Most of the tumbleweeds had been cleared from the roads. Horses pulling carts of food and goods filled the town like traffic. Despite last night, everything was normal in the town. To the people here it was another part of life. I found comfort in that.


	3. Chapter 3

Ninety-one led the way as we traveled around the town. We soon realized that there weren't many places to visit. Most of the shops sold farming equipment or seeds for farms, furniture, clothing, or services for animals. There weren't any movie theaters or places to casually spend time in. We stopped at a small flower shop, a clothing store, a small toy store, but mostly we wandered about weaving between dogs and horses. After two hours we stopped into a library for a break.

It wasn't large by any means. The building was smaller than the inn. All of the books on the shelves were leather-bound and appeared. The only one we had seen inside was a black dog stationed at a desk, with a sign reading 'If checking out, leaving name with Boxx. If returning, leave books with Boxx'.

"There's nothing to do," Quince muttered while flipping through the book she had picked. She didn’t appear to be actually reading it.

"Rosalie did say that there wouldn't be much to do here," Zero-zero said. His elbow was propped up on the table and his head was resting in his hand. Both him and Ninety-one had also gotten books. Neither of them seemed to be too interested in reading.

"Next time, we'll ask for specific places they could suggest," Ninety-one said. "But at least this is better than staying in our rooms."

The three of them fell into silence while I read a book. After rereading the same book for two days, I wasn't picky and grabbed the first book in reach. Even if it was a book of the town's history. It was hardly an engaging read, with most of it consisting of long-winded tales and events that took place in the town's history. Not that I was bothered by it.

Coal Grove was founded as a mining location over a hundred years ago. Compared to others in the area, it was abundant with coal and a few rare metals. After a few years, people began moving their families here. Farms were established and soon shops and other buildings were constructed. People would come in from all over for jobs and sell goods. A government was formed and the town did well for over thirty years.

But all of that went downhill when the coyotes took up residence within the mine tunnels. They had been a growing problem since the founding of the town. There were hundreds of reports of them picking off animals and children during the night. There had been several expeditions to clear them out of the mines, but each time more and more people got hurt. It eventually reached a point where hardly anyone was making it out alive.

With the coyotes growing more aggressive and entering the town at night leading to more losses, the mining ended. With less money going around people began to leave and Coal Grove managed to find balance with its remaining residents through farming and a strong community. The coyote problem, however, didn't get any better. One year after closing the mine, a strict curfew was placed over the town. Seventy years later it's still in effect.

The book didn't mention anything about a curse or blindness affecting people in the town. But the book was fairly old. When I reached the end of the book, I found myself wanting to find one similar that focused on the town’s recent history.

“Where are you off to?” Zero-zero asked when I stood from my seat.

“I’m going to get another book.”

“At least one of us is having fun.”

“We can go look around some more,” Quince suggested.

“You can go if you want. I’m going to stay here with Sol and take it easy.” Ninety-one responded. Zero-zero gave an agreed hum.

I returned the book to where I had taken it and began searching for another. The library didn’t have much of a selection with most of the shelves filled with copies of multiple books. Most of the books were either in-depth and historical logs on farming and livestock care or educational texts. There were a few sparse children’s tales to be found as well. Which is what I ended up settling on.

The first story was about a young child who kept wandering off to feed a stray dog. They had found it outside of the town they lived in after ignoring their parents about the dangers of doing so. It quickly became a cautionary story about listening to those with authority. It ended with the stray being a coyote and the child being eaten.

The second story focused on a poor man pinning for riches. He convinces himself that there must still be coal in the old mines and goes off to find it. He spends days going off in secret to look for the coal until one day he goes in too deep and finds the den of the coyotes. The story ends with him fleeing for his life in the dark with the animals close behind.

The rest of the book had similar stories. Each involving someone young and naive getting tricked in one way or another and ending up being eaten by a coyote or getting trapped in the old mine tunnels to be eaten later. I stopped reading halfway through the book when I got to a story about a four-year-old girl who opened the door to her home at sunset because she had left a toy outside. She and her family were eaten by the coyotes. The scene was so gruesome that the town burned down their home so as not to clean what remained of them.

I closed the book and stood from the table to get a different one. I’d rather read about the proper way to farm. Glancing at the others, I realized that Ninety-one had fallen asleep. Zero-zero appeared close to doing the same. He gave me a small tired smile as I headed to the nearest bookshelf.

“I’m going to go look around,” Quince said as she stood from the table.

“Okay,” I muttered as she left the building. I wasn’t sure what she was hoping to find, but I wasn’t going to stop her. I was content with reading.

After a few minutes of looking around, I stumbled upon another book on the town’s history that I had originally been looking for. Almost pleased with finding it, I headed back to the table only to stop when the door to the library opened up.

A man stepped inside. He wore a dark grey long-sleeved shirt and black pants. He had black work boots that were covered in dust. His long, black hair was tied back. I had several thick sections of grey in it. His hair along with his beard and mustache appeared to be well-groomed. From the top right of his hairline to the bottom left section of his jaw, stretched two long scars. They looked old.

He silently gazed around the library for a moment before spotting me. His eyes weren’t hazed over like everyone else in town. “Ah, yes. You must be one of the new arrivals in town, right?” He had a deep, smooth voice.

“You’ve heard of us?” I asked.

“It’s a small town. People in small towns like to talk. Especially in places were visitors aren’t common.” He smiled and began heading toward me. “Anyway, I hear one of you is looking for me?”

“Yes. Ashe. He said that he knows you from Recall,” I explained. “We need help.”

He stopped walking and his smile fell. “Oh? On what, may I ask? If it is about your home being destroyed, there isn’t anything I can do with that. If you’re looking to be relocated, I’m sorry to say that all I can do is offer suggestions.”

“It wasn’t destroyed, we were kicked out. By the Overseers and-” I trailed off. Maybe telling him wasn’t a good idea. Ashe should be doing this.

“And who?” The man asked.

“Ashe would be better at explaining this,” I said with a glance to Ninety-one and Zero-zero.

The man gazed over them as well. “None of you got much sleep last night, I take it.”

“No.”

“Not much for your first night outside your home, I assume. It must be quite jarring for you. It was for me when I first left.”

“This is their third time moving to a new area. It’s my fourth,” I admitted.

He nodded before looking at me and smiled. “Well, if Ashe sought for us to meet, then I see no reason not to talk with you. But I’d rather not wake your friends. I can stop by where you’re staying later this evening, once they have rested. I already know where you all are staying.”

"How?" I asked as he turned to leave.

"People in small towns like this tend to gossip. I didn't even have to ask to find out."

I said nothing as he left the library. With the library once again quiet, I took my seat and opened up my book. I attempted to read but felt my nerves building. Was it tight to tell him as much as I did? Maybe I should have woken the others before telling him anything. I didn't even know his name. What if he wasn't the person Ashe was looking for. He knew about Recall and the Overseers but that didn't mean he was an ally. For all I knew, He could have been working with the Overseers, or even Mariah.

I pushed the book to the side. Crossing my arms on the table, I rested my head on them. Did I manage to ruin things for us again? Closing my eyes, I attempted to sleep. I needed to rest. It wasn't like I was going to get any tonight anyway.

I was awoken sometime later, to someone calling my name. Looking up, I saw Ninety-one. "Hey. We're going to get some lunch."

"Okay," I said through a yawn. I stood and stretched.

"Where did Quince go?" Zero-zero asked as we stepped out of the library and into the midday sun. The warmth felt great after my nap.

"She left to look around the town." He nodded and gazed around. There were fewer people and horses in the streets than this morning. There were still quite a few dogs roaming about.

"Do either of you remember were a restaurant was?" Ninety-one asked.

"I'm not sure our money works here," Zero-zero said.

"I haven't thought of that," Ninety-one said thoughtfully. "I brought some food to our room just in case anyway, so we can eat there."

With that settled, we headed back to the inn. On the way, I mentioned the man in dark clothes. "He said he would come this afternoon."

"What was his name?" Zero-zero asked.

"I didn't ask," I said hesitantly.

"Always ask people their names," he advised. "It's polite at and good to know who you're speaking with."

"Okay. I'll remember that."

Lora was still waiting at the front desk. The kitchen in the back room didn't have a microwave, but there was an oven with a stovetop that we were allowed to use. As long as we washed anything we dirtied, we were free to use what we needed. We decided that spaghetti would be the easiest thing for us to make. Once we were finished cooking, we invited Lora to come and eat with us

"I've never seen food like this before," she exclaimed while looking over her bowl. "Do you normally eat stuff like this where you're from?"

"Occasionally," Ninety-one said with a smile.

Lora began with a small bite of food before giving a hum of approval and digging in.

"There's plenty if you want more," Zero-zero said. We had made some in case Quince or Ashe happen to arrive.

Lunch was quiet for the most part, not that there was much to discuss. I was considering heading up to my room and getting some more sleep when there was a bark from the front of the building.

"Oh!" Lora said through a mouthful of spaghetti. She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and quickly left the room. "Coming!"

A few minutes later she came back with two men following behind. The first was an older man with white hair that was hidden under an even whiter large brimmed hat. He was a foot or so taller than Lora, but was short compared to Ninety-one or Zero-zero. He was a heavyset man dressed in a light grey suit with a black vest. The second man was taller. He wore a brown button-up shirt and a darker brown pair of pants. They both had foggy eyes. At their feet stood two German shepherds. One had a lighter coat and white around its mouth.

"Howdy, there," the older man said too loudly. "Sorry to barge in while you're eating. I just wanted a chance to introduce ourselves. My name's Dean Dixon. I'm the mayor of this town. And this here's my son Dean. He works as the sheriff, keeping the peace and such."

The younger man simply nodded at us. He had a stern look on his face that made me uneasy. I assume his dog was the younger one that watched us with a stiff and domineering stance.

"Hello," Zero-zero said, speaking first. "I'm Oscar."

"Just Oscar?" The younger Dixon asked. His voice was as rough as sandpaper and sounded as unfriendly as he looked.

"Oscar Royal, if you're that interested," Zero-zero told him.

"I'm Nicholas Hyder," Ninety-one quickly added. He then gestured to me. "And this is Sol Hyder?"

"Sibling or parent?" Dean asked.

"Parent," Zero-zero said.

"Where's the other one?"

"Did you want something from us?" Zero-zero demanded.

"We were just curious about who our newest visitors were," Grant said cheerfully. "We've heard about your arrival and wanted to get a look at you."

"Do you normally do that with people who visit?" Zero-zero asked. Ninety-one shot him a disapproving look.

"The town hasn't gotten any visitors in a very long time. Can you blame us for being a bit curious?" The Mayor said with a hardy bark of laughter. "In the spirit of that curiosity would y'all mind answering a few questions.

"I don't see why not," Ninety-one said politely.

"How long do you intend on staying?" Dean asked.

"Not long," Zero-zero responded.

"Who any of you happen to know about the other fellow who arrived here before y'all?" the Mayor asked.

"Not personally. But someone who brought us here does," Ninety-one answered.

"Yes, yes. Well, we heard that your friend was looking for him. Would you happen to know why?"

"They work together," Ninety-one said.

"What kind of work?" the sheriff asked.

"I don't know. That's their business," Zero-zero lied.

The younger Dixon narrowed his eyes at this. "You followed him here to find someone you've never met for a reason you don't know?"

"It would appear that way," Zero-zero responded. The younger dog let out a low growl as he took a step forward.

"Now, now. We didn't come here to ruffle any feathers. We're in charge of keeping this town safe, you see. Getting visitors isn't something that's happened in living memory, so you must understand our caution. It doesn't help none that that other fellow isn't the most friendly of types." From the corner of my eye, I watched as Zero-zero looked pointedly at Dean. "But seeing as we have intruded on y'all while you were eating, we'll take our leave now."

"We'll be back if we need anything else," Dean said, looking at Zero-zero specifically.

"Oh, I'm sure you will," Zero-zero said, earning another frustrated look from Ninety-one.

"Hope y'all have a good day," The mayor said before tipping his hat at Lora, who had been standing off to the side and leaving with his son and the dogs in tow.

"Was that necessary?" Ninety-one chided.

"He was rude first," Zero-zero responded plainly as he went back to eating.

"Yeah, Dean Dixon doesn't have the brightest personality," Lora said as she retook her seat at the table. "But he does what he can to keep the town safe."

"From what?" Zero-zero asked. "I thought doing anything to the coyotes was out of the question."

"It is. But he helps settle disputes and handles criminals."

"Is there a lot of crime here?" Ninety-one asked.

Lora looked thoughtful. "No, just kids being rebellious. Mostly it's people who don't pull their weight at the farms."

"Isn't that something the people they work for should deal with?" Zero-zero asked.

"Farming is a community responsibility. Once a person is old enough they have to help out in the farms if they aren't working in a trade like clothes making or blacksmithing. It's usually about the time their eyes go foggy and they have to see through their dogs."

"What?" I asked. "How do they see through dogs?"

"She blinked at me confused. "You don't know? Kids are usually taught that pretty early on. Well, once a person becomes an adult, they lose their eyesight and have to share it with their dog. That's why everyone had one, so they can bond early on. What happens when you guys go blind?"

"Where we're from people don't just go blind one day," Zero-zero responded. "Even if someone does, they aren't going to start seeing through a dog's eyes."

"Really? I wish my eyes wouldn’t go blind," Lora said with a pout. "Sometimes I can see through Nutmeg's if I concentrate, but it's so different from the way I'm used to seeing. I get a sick feeling most of the time. My moms say I just need more practice, but I want to look through my eyes as long as I can for now."

With a dejected sigh, Lora went back to eating. Without much to say in response, the rest of us did too. First the man from the library and now these two. I hoped we would have a plan on what to do next soon.


	4. Chapter 4

"Now do this one," I told Hue while holding up my phone to him. His body shifted from a white labrador to a greyhound. Hue observed his long legs as he paced around the room. "Maybe not this one either. It seems too different compared to the other dogs here."

I tried to find a breed of dog I liked so that Hue could leave with us next time we went out. I eventually settled on a husky. It looked close enough to the other dogs here, so Hue wouldn't stand out too much. I especially liked that his tail curled over his back.

With that taken care of, I decided to dig through my backpack for s book to read. At the bottom, I found the device Hue had taken back in Burilmont. It was black and only about the size of my finger. The device was mostly round except for one side that looked similar to a scanner. On one end was a button. But when I pressed it nothing happened. One the other end of the device was a cord that appeared to be able to plug into my phone.

Sure enough, when I did, the thin screen lit up with a dim white light. The home screen on my phone switched to an application it didn't know I had. At the top were the words 'scanned items' with a blank white screen under it. I pulled my boom out of my backpack and held the scanner over the cover. Pushing the button, a thin white light appeared on the book. It soon grew until the entire book was covered. On the screen, the word 'downloading' appeared with a loading bar next to it.

After a few minutes, the light faded back into a thin line and loading was complete. A small image of the book appeared on the screen. Tapping it, a block of information came up. It had the book's title, the author, the publisher, where it was first printed, how many copies, and more information.

The scanner had somehow gotten all the information on the books just from the cover. It was unnerving at first, but it was possible that all of that information was available on the internet. At the bottom, were two options. One was to read the book and the other to print it out.

I unplugged the scanner and dropped it back in the backpack. I opened up the book and read until I was only two chapters in when I was interrupted by a knock at the door. I called for whoever it was to come in.

Ninety-one opened the door. "Hey. Oscar and I are going to get a look at the farms if you want to come too."

"Oscar?" I questioned.

"We were thinking that it might be a good idea to start calling each other by our other names. This way we won't slip up. He thinks that our names will cause problems here."

"Okay." I'd gotten so used to their names that I forgot that they were considered odd to other people. "Can I bring Hue with us?"

"I don't see why not."

We headed to the east side of Coal Grove with Lora's direction. She suggested that we see Clay's farm. He was apparently more welcoming to visitors suddenly dropping in on him than others. According to Lora, since he had such a small farm only a handful of people got their vegetables from him.

Outside of town and through an opening in the fence that encircled it, there was a wide dirt road that led out to the grassy fields. A wooded sign sat at the beginning of the path. It showed directions towards the different farmlands. We followed the one leading to Harrington. We passed some of the other farmlands as we walked. I had pictures of farms before, but actually seeing the vast fields in person was an entirely different experience, even from a distance.

Eventually, we reached the end of the path and found ourselves next to a gate. It connected to a wooden fence that surrounded rows of crops. Sitting amongst them was a house and a small barn. This farm was much smaller than the ones we spotted in the distance.

The moment we stepped through the gate, barking started up from the distance. Through the fields, a brown and tan dog came bounding towards us. As Cookie got closer, Hue began to bark back. I knelt down and put an arm around him to make sure he wouldn't try and attack her.

"Hello?" a voice echoed through the small farm. It sounded like Clay. Both Hue and Honey Bun stopped barking. A few rows of crops away, I could barely make out his head over the plants.

"Sorry to introduce," Ninety-one shouted back "we were told you wouldn't mind the company.

"Not at all!" Cookie stopped barking and ran back to the field. Minutes later she returned with Clay following behind her. "How's today going for y'all?"

"Okay," Ninety-one began, "We're just having a problem figuring out to do with ourselves."

"Oh? Well, I guess Coal Grove isn't very exciting. Most people spend their time working on the farms or doing other work in town."

"No one has hobbies?" Zero-zero asked.

"Some of the older folks take up with them but I don't know much about them myself," Clay answered. "Knitting, gardening, quilt making, I know a few people who do that."

"We're looking for something a bit more short term," Zero-zero explained.

"Or at least temporary," Ninety-one added.

"Sorry, I'm not sure I can help you. I'm a long way away from even considering how to spend any free time. I have to get back to work. But if you'd like, you're all welcome to take a look around the farm. There ain't as much to see as the others, but it's nice enough."

"Would you mind some company?" Ninety-one asked.

"Not at all. It'll be nice to have someone to talk to."

"Lora mentioned that you worked on this farm on your own," Ninety-one asked as Clay led him back the way he had come. Honey Bun followed at their side.

"Yes, it was given to me by the man who used to own it. He was a nice man but couldn’t keep up with all the work very well. He used to be a friend of my grandmother-"

Next to me, Zero-zero gave a low scoff.

"Should we go with them?" I asked as I got to my feet.

"I'd rather wander around," he said, frowning into the distance.

"Okay."

The two of us, with Hue, walked the rows of crops in silence. Zero-zero seemed to be upset, but I couldn't tell why. He had seemed before. I didn't know what changed. Did he not like Clay? He seemed fine to me. Ninety-one liked him too. Maybe he didn't like the farm? It was a lot different than a city. It was really quiet out here, more so than in town. The only noises came from the wind as it rustled the plants and stirred up dirt.

"If we end up living here, will we have to work on a farm too?" I asked.

"Possibly. I doubt any of us have any skill that would be helpful here." I only nodded. If we did stay here then we would need somewhere to live too. "But before anything is decided I want to speak with Ashe's associate. There might be a place nearby that will suit us better."

“I understand. It would be easier to find somewhere familiar than trying to get used to this place.”

“Yes, but I am also concerned about these so-called coyotes. I want to know about those too. Whatever we heard last night wasn’t an animal. Don’t say anything to Nine- Nicholas, but it has me on edge.”

“What do you think it was?” I asked.

“I couldn't guess. Which is why it’s bothering me.” He turned his gaze to me. “If you hear or see anything that seems off to you, I want you to tell me.”

“Just you?”

“I don’t want him to worry,” Oscar said as he looked away. “We’ve only been here for two days and he’s already thinking about what our life is going to be like here. I’m glad he’s optimistic, but I don’t want him to get his hopes up.”

“I’m sorry,” I tell him. We wouldn’t be going through this if it wasn't for me.

“You don’t need to apologize.” He smiled at me. “Let's get back to Nicholas and Clay. I doubt that we’re going to get much sleep tonight, so we shouldn’t tire ourselves out.”

When we found Ninety-one, Clay was showing him how to tell which carrots were ready to be picked before taking them out of the ground. Nicholas looked happy. In his arms were several tomatoes, despite there being two baskets with plenty of empty room next to them. Noticing us, Clay waved us over.

“Clay said we can have these,” Nicholas said as he showed us the vegetables. “Try one.”

“They aren’t cooked,” I noted.

“You should wash them first too,” Clay added. He reached down to Hue, who stepped away from him. Honey Bun was sitting off to the side eating a dropped carrot.

“You don’t mind us having them?” Oscar asked.

Clay shook his head. “Not at all. There’s plenty here to spare. That’s how framed food works here. Everything’s free to anyone who needs it.”

After a few hours on the farm, and a small basket of vegetables, we returned to the inn. Quince and Ashe were already there waiting for us, along with the man from the library. He and Ashe were midway through a conversation when we walked in.

“Hello,” the man greeted us when he noticed us.

“Oscar, Nicholas, Sol, this is Vincent. He helps run Recall.”

“It is a pleasure to meet you both,” Vincent said as he went up and shook our hands. “Ashe tells me that you want to speak with me. Why don’t we find a place to sit and discuss? I have a few questions of my own.”

“We can use the dining room,” Ashe instructed before leading the way. Oscar, Nicholas, and I sat on one side of the table, with Vincent and Ashe on the other. Quince sat one seat over from them.

“Now, what did you wish to speak about?” Vincent asked once we had sat down.

“We want help finding a new home,” Ninety-one started.

“I would if I could, but such a thing isn’t easy in this world. No one in Recall knows of any safe enough to live in, not long term at least,” Vincent explained.

“It was created by people like you actually,” Ashe added. “They were trying to find a new place to live after they realized how dangerous theirs was.”

“There’s been little luck in that endeavor,” Vincent explained. “We’ve lost many people in pursuit of our goal. Without the ability to successfully stabilize cores, we are forced to rely on the hope of finding someplace suitable to stay in, even for a short time.”

“We’ve recently discovered the way the Overseers use to control cores but it is still being tested,” Ashe said.

“Moreover the failure of this method results and the immediate release energy stored within the core,” Vincent concluded.

“How do you even test something like that?” Ninety-one asked.

“We have ways of knowing if a core is close to unleashing its power naturally and test in those areas,” Vincent explained. “It isn’t ideal but it is our only option.”

“So what are we supposed to do?” Ninety-one asked. “Just settle somewhere and hope for the best?”

“Unfortunately, that is how our world is.“ The room was silent as what was said began to sink in. Ninety-one leaned back in his chair and looked toward the ground. His disappointment was apparent. Zero-zero looked just as hopeless. ”There is something I’d like to know from you.“

“VIncent-” Ashe started.

Vincent looked at me as he spoke. “Ashe tells me that you were driven from your home because those people wanted you to leave with them. Why is that?”

“They thought that Sol was one of them,” Zero-zero answered.

“One of them had the power to control the core there, correct? Are you able to do that too?”

“I-”

“No,” Zero-zero cut in.

Vincent looked to him but said nothing in response to his interruption. “Those Colonizers are quite interesting. To be able to control a core at will without the use of a cosmic sphere would be just what we needed.”

“Well, Sol can’t so there’s nothing that can be done,” Zero-zero said.

“Um,” Quince started. “Okay, I’m not completely sure about what you guys are talking about with, like, cores, and such. But wasn’t it the dragon that Sol has the one controlling what happened to the city. I mean, until that woman stopped it. Is that what you mean by controlling a core?”

“Yes, that is helpful. Thank you,” Vincent said. “So you have a dragon that can control the cores then?”

“Yes. His name is Hue. He belongs to Sol,” Ninety-one said quietly. At the mention of his name, Hue looked up from his place on the floor. He was laying partially under my chair, trying to sleep.

“Is he able to control cores?” Vincent repeated.

“From what I've seen he can use the powers but he can’t control it,” Ashe said, speaking up. “The woman who was working with the Overseers was able to stop it on her own.”

Vincent gazed at Ashe for a moment, seemingly upset, but continued as normal. “Did she have a dragon with her as well?”

“No, but she had a large black lion at her side.”

“I see. The other Colonizers that you mentioned. Did they have animals at their sides as well?”

“One had a yellow and white snake. And the other had a grey dog,” Quince chimed in.

“May I ask how all of you know each other?” Vincent asked.

“I kind of mugged Sol and we ended up having to join a game together,” she admitted.

“Nicholas and I are Sol’s family,” Oscar told him.

“By what relation?”

“Choice.”

“Okay,” Vincent said, backing off from the subject and focusing on me. “Where did you get Hue?”

“I bought him as a pet,” I said.

“At your old home?”

“Not from Burilmont, no. I got him in Goldsboro, where I’m from. The city was destroyed over a month ago.”

Vincent nodded. “I think I remember hearing about a city of that name a long time ago. It was completely controlled by the Overseers the last I heard of it. I wasn’t aware dragons were common there.”

“They aren’t. There weren’t any animals in Goldsboro.”

“But you managed to buy one at a pet store?”

“What does it matter?” Zero-zero asked.

“If this dragon is capable of using the power of a core, then there is a possibility of training it so it doesn’t lose control,” Vincent explained.

“That’s possible?” Quince asked.

“We would need to test it to be sure.”

“But won’t that risk the people around where the core is?” Ninety-one asked.

“There are plenty of places close to destruction that we can test it on,” Vincent said. “it isn’t ideal but neither is any other option. The spheres we have are prototypes that we managed to create from a copy of an Overseers. It is neither fully functioning nor successfully tested. Aside from those, this is the best alternative I’ve come across.”

“But won’t people be killed if it fails?” Ninety-one asked.

“If nothing is done every core around the world will eventually make the areas around them unlivable. It would be akin to knocking over a house of cards. It is coming down anyway, just earlier than expected.”

“Comforting,” Zero-zero muttered darkly.

“I think we should do it,” Quince said.

“Hue only listens to what Sol wants. It is their decision,” Zero-zero told her.

“Oh.” Was all I could manage. I didn’t want this to be my choice. I was bad at deciding what to do. If it worked, then we’d be able to live somewhere new without the risk of it falling apart. But if it didn’t then people could be killed and their homes ruined. Even if the areas we tested in were going to fall apart anyway, I didn’t want to be the one to cause it. “I don’t know. I don’t want to destroy anything.”

“You don’t need to decide now. I only wanted the option to be known,” Vincent said. “I’ll go to give you time to think about it, that is unless any of you have any other questions to ask me.”

“No, we’re done,” Zero-zero said. Ninety-one and I only shook our heads.

Vincent stood from his seat. “It was a pleasure meeting all of you. I hope to speak with you sometime on more pleasant matters.”

“Why don’t you want to do it? There isn’t much to lose,” Quince asked once Ashe led Vincent out of the room and to the front of the inn.

“Can we talk about this in private?” Ninety-one asked.

She opened her mouth to speak but changed her mind. “Yeah, fine.”

“What do you two think?” I asked when she had gone.

“I think it’s too dangerous,” Ninety-one spoke up first. “Not just for the other people, but for you too.”

“I agree,” Zero-zero said.

“But if it does work, we can have somewhere to live,” I reminded them.

“What he said was just speculation. With nothing assured it isn't worth the risk,” Oscar continued. “But you should think about it anyway. You’ve lost your home more times than we have. If you still want to go through with it, then we’re with you.”

"Thanks," I said, "but don't want to take the risk. Not without proof that it will work."


	5. Chapter 5

Dinner had been leftover soup, with the vegetables Clay gave us added to it. Afterward came another sleepless night as we listened to the sound of heavy dragging as whatever was outside moved over the building. I tried focusing on the noise. I wanted to understand what it was that made people believe that it was caused by coyotes. To me, it sounded more like pieces of wood being slowly moved over each other. But there was no way to know for sure.

"What did you choose to do?" Quince asked.

I was laying with my back to her. Next to me, Hue was asleep. He was back in his normal dragon body. "I'm not going to do it."

"Why not?" I could hear her sit up in the bed. "What's there to lose? You have a chance to help your family. Not to mention so many other people."

"But what if it doesn't work? What if I just cause more damage?"

"From what I understand everything is going to fall apart anyway. You might as well give it a try."

"I'll think about it," I told her, trying to end the conversation.

"What you got your dragon to do in the city was amazing. Terrifying and kind of destructive, but amazing. And Vincent said that he could teach him how to control it. If I were you, I'd do it." I said nothing in response. "At least ask him about if it can be done before saying no."

I still said nothing. Ninety-one and Zero-zero thought it was a bad idea. Even if Vincent thought he could get Hue to control a core's power, there was no way of knowing until it was too late. We were better off not trying at all.

After breakfast the next morning, everyone except for Ashe and the Halwells went back to bed. I'd managed to get a short nap in before a knock came from our room door. When Quince opened the door Zero-zero was standing on the other side.

"You two should come downstairs with us," Oscar said.

"Is something wrong?" I asked while getting out of bed.

"Yes, but it will be explained later."

Quince, Hue, in his dog form, and I followed them downstairs where Ashe, Lora, and her parents were waiting. Surprisingly, Vincent was there as well. As I moved to stand by Ninety-one, I noticed how Lora held onto Mary's hand. They both looked saddened.

"Sorry to wake y'all with bad news," Rosalie began, her voice was mournful, "but last night some coyotes managed to get into a house and killed the family living there. Something like this rarely happens, but when it does everyone in town gathers together to mourn and say their goodbyes. And afterward, the house will be burned."

"I don't understand," Ashe said. "Why burn down the house."

"It's to make sure that no coyotes are hiding in the building. It's too dangerous to send people in, so this is the only way to keep people safe."

"Did you know them personally?" Ninety-one asked.

"We worked with the parents in the farms," Mary explained.

"We didn't know each other well, no. In a small town like this, you get to know everyone a little," Rosalie added.

The low chime of bells echoed through the city. Rosalie gave us a final look before heading outside with her wife and daughter. Vincent was the first to follow them out, with Ashe and Quince behind him. The rest of us went as well.

Even though the streets were flooded with people and their dogs, Coal Grove was silent. With so many people around kicking up dirt and dust, a thin haze covered everything. The filtered light and elongated shadows gave a ghostly atmosphere as we stepped into the crowd.

We followed it across town until we reached the house of the victims. There was a good distance between the main crowd and the building. In this space stood a small group of people. One of them was speaking. From what I gathered they were giving an elegy.

We stood in the middle of the main crowd. From what I could see, the heavy wooden door to the home was broken and laying in just past the doorway. The inside was dark as the only light came from the entrance. It was difficult, but I was able to make out large breaks in the wooden floor. These cuts were jagged and split the wood like an old road. None of them reached into the light of the sun.

I glance at the faces of the people around us. Their eyes were filled with sadness and pity. None of them looked shocked at the destruction in the home. I looked at Ninety-one. The look of worry on his face was more clear than the sun above us. Zero-zero had a similar expression.

Another person near the house spoke. This one was an old woman. Her voice wavered weakly, from both grief and sorrow. She spoke of her daughter that lived there and her grandchildren who had visited her the previous day. They had been a family of bakers, a trade that had been in the family generations. The others around the woman spoke as well. Each had their own stories to tell and memories to share. Each did their best to summarize their lost ones in only a few sentences.

Once they were done they stepped away from the house as sheriff Grant Dixon approached. He was accompanied by four other men. Each of them held what looked to be a tree branch alight with fire. The five men surrounded the front of the house and touched the fire to it. It didn’t take long for the flames to catch.

Thick dark smoke rose into the late morning sky as the fire grew. It hungrily engulfed the former home, leaving nothing in its wake. The flames crackled and popped as it consumed the wood. By now the heat from it was growing stronger than that from the morning sun. The smoke grew and darkened the sky over the town.

As more and more of the wooden structure disappeared under the crackling fire, people began to disperse. Despite the tragedy, there were still things that needed to be done. The crowd was barely a third of its former size by the time the structure began to give way. The roof was the first to crumble on itself. A wave of heat and smoke hit us like a storm as embers flew into the air. The smell alone burned my nose and scratched my throat. My eyes began to water.

Ninety-one took my hand and began leading me away from the fire. The Halwells were leaving as well. There were very few people left to witness the burning. Even the victims' close relatives and friends had gone. Sheriff Dixon and his men were still there, although they had moved back as the fire grew. Quince was leaving with us as well. Ashe had started leaving too but stopped when he realized Vincent hadn’t moved. He wasn’t looking at the fire. Instead, he was watching the sheriff. And the sheriff was watching him.

Ninety-one didn’t want to return to the inn. “I’d like to go back to Clay’s farm.”

“Do you think that’d be a good idea right now?” Zero-zero asked. “He might want some space to himself considering.”

“Maybe he’ll let us help out. I kind of want to clear my mind.” Zero-zero didn’t say anything more.

We ran into Honey Bun before finding Clay. She had come bounding up from our side. Hue gave her a low growl, but she ignored it as she approached Ninety-one.

“Hello, girl,” he greeted as he reached down to pet her. “Shouldn’t you be with Clay?”

“Yes, she should be,” Clay said as he approached us. “Sorry about her. You’re still new and exciting to her.”

“I’m just glad she likes me,” Ninety-one responded.

“Who’s this guy?” Clay asked as he reached his hand down to Hue. He gave a short, half-hearted bark as he backed away from the man. “Oh? Don’t like strangers, buddy?”

“He doesn’t like anyone but Sol,” Zero-zero tells him.

“He liked me briefly,” Ninety-one halfway brags.

“How long have you had him?” Clay asks me.

“A few years.” It almost comes out like a question. I don’t know exactly how long I’ve had Hue. He’s always just been there.

“He’s only been around us for about two months,” Ninety-one clarifies.

“I’ve heard some dogs can be like that. Only getting close to one person and all. The sheriff’s dog is like that. Have you met him yet?”

“We’ve met, yes,” Zero-zero says with a frown.

Clay gives a low chuckle. “Yeah, he isn’t the friendliest of men. Not sure if he gets it from his dog or his dog gets it from him.”

“Hey,” Ninety-one began “Would you mind if we helped out on your farm today?”

“Sure, I don’t see why not. It’ll be nice to have company while I work.”

The walk to the farm was strangely peaceful considering how our morning started. Despite the smoke in the hair and the remnants of the fire in the distance, the town was quickly getting back to normal. People were sweeping blown in tumbleweeds off of their porch and storefronts. A few horses were being ridden out of town, likely heading to the farmlands. The thick atmosphere from before was already fading from the town.

Once at the farm, Clay gave us a few baskets and showed us the proper way to pick a few of the crops he had grown around the area we would be working in. Surprisingly, the crops didn't have the same brown coloring the grass did.

“What do you do with the vegetables you can’t pick in time?” Zero-zero asked.

“Those are given to the farms that raise pigs and cows. Some of it might get mixed in with the food that gets fed to the dogs. Nothing goes to waste,” Clay explained. “So how long are y’all going to be staying in town anyway?”

“We’re not sure about that yet,” Ninety-one said. “We’re still thinking about where we are going to live. Finding work might be an issue. As well as getting used to these ‘coyotes’ that keep us up at night.”

“Ah, yes. I suppose they are a bit hard to ignore if you aren’t used to them,” Clay said with a nod.

“What do they look like?” Zero-zero asked.

“I haven’t seen one myself, thank goodness. But I’ve heard that they sort of look like dogs. They have grey and brown fur, and used to make a lot of noise back in the day.”

“Used to?” Zero-zero questioned.

“Yeah, they stopped sometime after the mining accidents long before my time. I don’t know much about it outside of a few stories I heard as a kid.”

When we stopped for lunch, I decided to head back to the inn to feed Hue. Clay insisted that he had plenty of food for him and Honey Bun, but I told him Hum may not eat with her around. Truthfully, my body was starting to ache from so much physical labor.

We ate the canned food we had brought from the van in the library. It had felt like ages since I had last been in there. I sat at the table fiddling with the small scanner. I had the stuffed rabbit toy I had gotten when Ninety-one had taken me to an arcade. The toy was black with a cartoonish white skull on its face and black Xs for eyes and mouth. Its long ears had a white underside and exceeded the length of the body. It was an odd thing that I had come to love.

I pointed the scanner and allowed the pale light to move the rabbit. After a moment, an image of the toy appeared on my phone. The information that accompanied it gave the name of the company that produced it as well as how many were made, the stores and locations it had been sold from, and how many were still around. My rabbit toy was the last of its kind. I couldn’t help but think about how Ninety-one and Zero-zero were the only people left of Heita too.

I sighed to push away the feeling the dark thought had brought up. Moving everything to the side, I brought up the map on the table. Coal Grove was already marked with a grey dot. The informational section held nothing that I didn’t already know about the town, except for one thing. It said that the town was ‘plagued with unknown sounds every night that the locals have chosen to identify as coyotes despite their extinction from the area.’

I did not like that.

I closed up the library and decided to head back to the farm. I didn’t take to farming as good as Ninety-one had, but I didn’t have much else to do. I considered going back to the town’s library, however, I hadn’t told Ninety-one or Zero-zero that I wasn’t going to come back and didn’t want them to worry.

“May I ask where you’re off to?” At my side, Hue growled lowly as Vincent approached us.

“I’m going to help on one of the farms,” I told him.

“Really? I suppose that means that you have decided to try and live here?”

“I- we don’t know yet.”

He slowly stepped around me, gazing over Hue as he walked. “I wasn’t aware you had a dog.”

I said nothing to this.

“I’m not much of an animal person. None of the ones I’ve met ever seem to like me,” he continued. Hue bared his teeth as he got near, causing Vincent to stop. “I take it that you have decided against my offer?”

“I- yes.”

He turned his dark gaze back to me. “May I ask why?”

I took a breath. “We don’t want to take the risk of unleashing a core without knowing if your idea will work.”

“I see.” He took a step toward me. His taller frame loomed over mine. “If I can provide you with the proof you need, then might you reconsider my request?”

“I don’t know. Maybe.” I yielded.

He silently gazed at me for a moment longer before speaking. “Very well. It is in your right to have evidence of my proposal. I will return to you with it tomorrow morning.”

Then he left. I immediately felt regret for unintentionally agreeing to what he wanted. Ninety-one and Zero-zero said that it was a bad idea. I trusted them on that. If he had proof that he could control a core then he would have done so already. Should I tell Ninety-one and Zero-zero about this? Would it get their hopes up? Maybe it was better to wait and see what Vincent had to show me. That way if it wasn’t enough then they wouldn’t be disappointed. For now, I was going to head back to the farm.


	6. Chapter 6

My body ached from farming even when I woke up the next morning. Telling by how stiffly they were moving, Ninety-one and Zero-zero were sore as well. Regardless of this Ninety-one still wanted to go back to the farm again. Although he didn't look pleased about the idea, Zero-zero went with him.

I told them I'd stay behind and they left after breakfast. Not sure what else to do, I waited on the porch of the inn. Hue was once again a dog and was laying with most of his body in my lap. It was nice to have him around without needing to hide him in my backpack. He was also less prone to going off on his one when he couldn't fly.

"Hello, Sol," Ashe greeted as he stepped out of the building. He'd been staying late enough to eat breakfast with everyone once he found his colleague. "Vincent wanted me to take you to the library to meet him. He said he had the evidence you wanted."

"Can I come too?" Quince asked as she approached us. "I want to know what is going on and help if I can."

"I don't see why not," Ashe responded.

While the people in town began their day and started heading out to the farmlands, the three of us headed to the library. Like last time, it was empty except for Boxx the dog. Vincent was sitting at the table nearest to the door, waiting for us.

"Good morning to you all," Vincent said as he got to his feet. Reaching down, he lifted a black bag from the floor. "Follow me."

He led us to the back corner of the library, far from the sight of anyone who might enter the building. Once there, he knelt down and set the bag on the floor. He then unzipped it and pulled out a grey, nearly transparent sphere. I stepped back at the sight of it, nearly tripping on Hue as he moved behind me.

"You've seen this before," Vincent stated as he got to his feet ."The Overseers call them cosmic spheres. With these, they are able to capture and control the cores of the places they take over. It is what gives them their strength."

He turned it so that we could see the faint, white outline of the symbol on it. It appeared to be a square with lines within it. The symbol looked incomplete and wasn't one I've seen before.

"This one is merely a replica created by Recall," Vincent continued. "It is nowhere near as strong or stable as a real one. Only a dozen or so have been made in Recall. This one is the only one we have that is close to being successful."

"What can it do?" Quince asked.

"Allow me to demonstrate," Vincent spoke as he removed a book from a nearby shelf.

He held it out with one hand while clutching the sphere with the other. His eyes narrowed as he concentrated. The sphere began to glow with a dim light. Spots of wood appeared over the book. They grew large, consuming it until it was solid wood. The light from the sphere faded.

"Wow," Quince breathed as she reached out for the book. Vincent apathetically allowed her to take it.

"As powers from cores go, this one is fairly lacking. However, this is only a small fraction of what this town's core can do. What's in this sphere was taken from the linger energy around the town." Vincent looked at me. "Once I've found the location of the core, it will be able to do much more.

"That's incredible," Quince said as she continued to look over the book.

"Has this changed your mind?" Vincent asked.

"I- I still don't know if it will you," I said. "This is different than having Hue control the core."

"How does he control all of that power?"

"I'm not sure."

"Does anything about him change when he uses the power?" Vincent asked.

"Some of the colors on his back glow depending on what powers he uses," I told him.

"He has the powers of multiple cores?" the slight excitement in his voice was unnerving. "May I meet your dragon?"

Before I could think of an excuse, barking erupted around us. A large German shepherd had emerged from around a bookcase case. Vincent quickly took the wooden book from Quince and shoved it on the bookcase and dropped the sphere into the bag. Moments later a man came from behind the dog. It was sheriff Dixon. The dog silenced himself.

"There you are," he said as he gazed over each of us. "What're y'all doing back here?"

"Merely browsing your town's fine section of books," Vincent responded.

"Mmhmm. Well, if you all would be so kind as to follow me."

"May I ask why," Ashe asked, finally speaking up.

"Another family got attacked last night. This time we lost a family of doctors."

"That is unfortunate. However, what does that have to do with us?" Vincent asked.

"It's never happened two nights in a row before. Y'all are the first visitors we've had in a long while. People are getting suspicious."

"They think we made coyotes attack people?" Quince exclaimed. "That's ridiculous."

Dixon huffed. "Either way, I need to know where you've people have been the last two days."

"I've been at Clay Harrington's farm-"

Dixon cut me off with a dismissive wave. "I know where your 'family' has been. The same for the other two of you. Plenty of people have seen you move around town, being sociable. You, mister-"

"Vincent is fine."

"Whatever. Where have you been running off to every day?"

"I prefer to stroll through the lands outside of this town," Vincent answered. "I'm merely curious about what's out there."

"There's nothing there but coyotes and old mines. You have no business being there," Dixon scolded.

"I wasn't aware I was breaking a law."

"Listen here," Dixon spat "We lost important people today. Their home was also the clinic. So their medicine and supplies are gone too. This isn't a joke. If you've got something to do with this and I find out, you'll wish the coyotes get to you before I do. You hear me?"

"I understand," Vincent responded.

"Good. Because I ain’t the only one who’s got their eye on you," Dixon practically spat. With that apparently settled, the sheriff left with his dog following behind him.

"I've been meaning to ask about that," Ashe began, "What are you looking for out there."

"Answers," Vincent responded, "but specifically this land's core. I have reason to believe that it is located in one of the mines out there."

"Really?" Quince said excitedly, "We should go find it."

"That is easier said than done," Vincent remarked. "There are several mines. Each one is impossible to navigate without a map. Not to mention that they are where the so-called 'coyotes' stay during the day."

"But if we get the core can't you use its power to fight them off?" Quince asked.

"Not without knowing what the coyotes are capable of. The sphere isn't able to hold all of the core's power at one. It needs to be allowed to absorb the energy periodically or over an extended time of exposure," Vincent explained.

"Oh," Quince said dejectedly.

"If we were able to find the core, then we should be able to leave the sphere there and come back for it later," Ashe suggested.

"We still have the issue of finding the core itself," Vincent reminded him. “The maps used to be held here in the library, but they’ve since been moved to the mayor’s office. Like due to his and his son’s unjust suspicion of me.”

“Maybe we can get it for you?” Quince offered. A wave of worry went through me. The last thing I wanted to do was take anything from people who were already uneasy about us.

Vincent gave a low, almost amused chuckle. “I am confident that the mayor nor his son won’t let you anywhere near them. Let alone let you take them.”

“What if we take pictures?” Quince said. “Some of us can distract them while someone goes in and gets pictures of the maps.”

“I’m not sure that will work either,” Ashe voiced. “Just because they are mostly suspicious of Vincent doesn’t mean they don’t have doubts about the rest of us. Not just them, but others in town. We shouldn’t give them a reason to think we are a threat.”

“Then how are we going to get to the core?” Quince asked.

“We might not be able to. Sometimes, when there’s too much working against us, we just have to leave the core be,” Ashe explained.

“Does that mean you’re going to leave?” Quince asked. Ashe didn’t answer. Instead, he looked to Vincent who was gazing down at his bag. He looked to be deep in thought.

“I’ll think of something,” Vincent said as he lifted his bag from the floor.

"I don't know if this is a good idea," I told them. "Getting caught isn't worth it."

"But we have a chance to save this town from getting destroyed and maybe other places too," Quince argued. "You said you'd help if you got proof. He showed you that he can control it. You can't back out now."

"I didn't agree to anything," I shot back. "Besides. Vincent said that the sphere only has some of the power. That doesn't mean he can control the whole core.

"It's still a possibility. What are you so afraid of?" She accused while taking a step toward me. Hue snarled and snapped his jaws at her, made her back off. Almost absently she touched where he had bitten her when we'd first met.

I frowned. Why did I have to justify myself to her? She wasn't the one taking the chance on risking her life and others. She had no idea how dangerous a core's power was. She hasn't seen how Goldsboro had been destroyed. I didn't want to be responsible for costing any more lives.

"If I were you I'd do it," she said.

"You're not me," I said. "If you want to go through with this fine. Come on, Hue."

I left the library and headed out into the streets. I didn't want to go all the way out to Clay's farm, so I headed to the inn. Needed to be left alone. Someplace where no one would ask anything of me. My library.

"Sol," a voice called out. Vincent's. I stopped and waited for him to catch up. I didn't want to but I did. As he approached me, I noticed that he was looking at Hue. His gaze moved back to me as he spoke. "I apologize if my persistence has made you uncomfortable. You simply provide a chance for not only me but Recall as well. I've just become a bit eager."

"It's fine," I muttered.

"Regardless, it is not my intention to push you into anything. I wanted you to know that. Hopefully, our next talk will end on a better note."

With a nod, he headed back to the library, where Ashe and Quince were standing in front of. Her face was twisted in frustration and maybe even anger. Good. She deserved to be angry too. I wasn't going to let myself get pulled along by her again.

Once I was back at the inn and made it into the library, I laid down in the bed in the side room. I had used a door that was around the corner from the hall with the rooms were staying to open the library. That way I wouldn't have to try and explain myself if anyone caught me. I kept the main door to the main room open so I could hear if anyone came up the stairs.


	7. Chapter 7

"Where are you going?" Quince asked.

It was after dinner and everyone else had settled in for the night. With the noises outside, it wasn't surprising that she was still awake. I had hoped that after earlier she wouldn't be willing to talk with me. She hadn't done so since she got back.

I paused and considered thinking of a lie. But I decided she wasn't worth even that amount of effort. I left without saying anything.

"Hey," she called after me.

I sighed and stopped in the hallway. I had intended on going back to the library, but I couldn't do that with her following me.

"What?" I asked as she stepped out of the room.

"I'm not trying to be pushy, I just don't understand," she began. "You have a chance to help people. Your family included."

"It's too dangerous," I told her.

"I'd give anything to help my family if I could," she said while walking toward me. "But you won't. Why don't you want to? What are you afraid of?"

"You don't have any idea how dangerous the cores are," I told her.

"How bad can it be?" She asked, her voice rising. "Vincent controlled that one just fine."

"What Vincent did was a cheap trick compared to a core's actual power," I nearly shouted. "What I didn't in Burilmont will happen here if I try to mess it the core's power."

"It wasn't that bad," she scoffed.

"I destroyed entire buildings. I got people killed!" I shouted. "And that was nothing compared to what happened to Goldsboro. The city was ripped from the ground. Everyone who lived there is dead. That will happen here too. If you want to take the chance with people's lives, then fine. But I won't."

She opened her mouth to argue but was stopped by the sound of a door opening. Zero-zero stepped out first, with Ninety-one staying in the doorway.

"What's going on?" Zero-zero asked.

Seeing his tired and annoyed glare, Quince stepped away from me. She explained to them what happened this morning and how she thought that I wasn't making a mistake by refusing.

"We have a chance to help people. Help me convince them that-"

"We are not going to force them to do anything," He said, cutting her off. "Haven't you dragged Sol into enough danger already?"

"What?" Quince asked, taken aback."

"Oscar," Ninety-one said gently.

"You dragging Sol into that game is the reason we're all here. You, least of all, have any right to be telling anyone what they should be doing. Especially not after you almost got Sol killed."

"I- I was trying to find out what happened to my parents," Quince stammered as she tried to defend herself.

Zero-zero looked as if he was ready to shout, but thought better of his. Instead, he sighed heavily and turned to me. "Come in for a minute."

I did what he said. He closed the door to the room separating Quince from us. With the sounds going on outside, she wouldn't be able to overhear us.

"Are you mad too?" I asked.

"I'm not upset with anyone but her," Zero-zero said as he set a hand on my shoulder. "But I am curious about what Ashe's friend has been trying to get you to do."

"I didn't want to say anything until I knew it was possible," I explained. "I didn't want to get your hopes up."

"That's completely understandable," Ninety-one said. "As long as you aren't being forced to do anything."

"I'd like to talk to him," Zero-zero said. Ninety-one gave him a look. "I want to know what he is proposing."

"Do you think I should go through with it?" I asked.

"Not if you think it is too dangerous," Zero-zero assured. "But I would like to meet him regardless.

"We can talk about it more in the morning," Ninety-one said. "For now, do you want to sleep in here tonight?"

"No, I'll be fine."

"Alright, you can change your if you want," Zero-zero offered.

I didn’t return to the room after leaving them. Instead, I went to the library. At least there I would get a good night’s sleep.

The next morning I was up and walking around before the others. With Hue at my side, I went downstairs and opened the front door. The morning sunshine stung my eyes as I stepped outside. No one else in town was out walking around yet, leaving only rolling tumbleweeds to occupy the streets. I sat on the steps and enjoyed the quiet.

Vincent was likely going to come back again today and Zero-zero wanted to talk to him. Back when I first met him in Heita, he was following the Masked around because he was so interested in learning about him. I wonder if he wants to see the power Vincent showed me because of the same kind of interest. Or maybe he was bored with going to the farm every day.

Reaching down, I grabbed onto a passing tumbleweed. It was just a dry, withered plant. Hue sat next to me, once again a dog. He curiously smelled at the dead plant. Without warning, he transformed into his dragon body.

“Hey. Don’t do that when were outside,” I scolded.

He ignored me as he reached for the plant. I watched as he grabbed it. As soon as his tiny hands touched it, a new spot appeared on his back at the back end of the rest of the colors. It was a dark orange color. Great.

“What does this one do?” I asked sarcastically. The spot immediately began to glow. “No!”

The light disappeared as Hue looked at me startled. He dropped the plant.

“Sorry,” I told him gently. “Just turn back into a dog, please.”

Just like that Hue had the power of this place’s core. It had been as easy as grabbing one of the dozens of dead plants that came through town every morning. I couldn’t help but feel angry about how easy it was.

To distract myself, I took my phone and the small scanner from my pocket. After connecting the two, I aimed the scanner at the tumbleweed at my feet. After the thin, white light passed over it and the information appeared on my phone, I skimmed through the block of text.

According to this, these plants weren't like normal tumbleweeds. They grew only at night, and quickly at that. In the span of sunset to sunrise, they grew large, reaching full high by the middle of the night. But once the sunlight began to touch them, they would wither and die, because the dried husks the people of the town were used to seeing. I couldn't help but wonder what they looked like at night. It also gave me an uneasy feeling. I didn't know a lot about plants, but these things seemed odd to me.

I sat outside until Rosalie called everyone down for breakfast. The meal was quiet as usual. No one really talked outside of basic pleasantries. Quince so much as look at me and Zero-zero passed soft glares at her. I suppose everything was going fine until we heard shouting from outside. The town was in a frenzy. Mary was the one to ask about what was happening. Another home had been breached by whatever the coyotes were. This time it was a farm.

“An entire farm,” Rosalie said weakly. “I can’t believe we have to burn the entire Manchester farm. We’ll lose so much food this year.”

“You can’t just burn the home?” Zero-zero asked.

“No. It’s too risky,” Mary explained.

“What do you mean?” Quince asked. “They leave once the sun is up, right?”

Rosalie shook her head. “Anyone who is taken by the coyotes must have their belongings burned. That’s how things have been done ever since they first started taking people.”

“We should go to help everyone prepare. They’re going to need more hands than usual,” Mary declared. “Lora you stay here. This might be too dangerous for you.”

Her daughter didn’t argue as she headed back inside.

“Should we go too?” Ninety-one asked once Mary and Rosalie left with others of the town.

“I don’t think so,” Zero-zero said. “This seems a bit more emotional than the last one. Let’s just stay in town for today.”

“What about Clay?” Ninety-one asked.

Zero-zero rolled his eyes. “He’s been managing his farm for years on his own. He’ll manage.”

“You don’t like him, do you?”

“We’ve only known him for a few days. I don’t know enough about him to like,” Zero-zero responded. I zoned out from their conversation as Vincent walked up. He greeted Ashe as Quince walked over to him.

“I know I can’t use core power like Sol can, but I want to help if I can,” she told him.

“Thank you,” he responded cheerfully. “I could use your help right now in fact.”

“Really?” she asked excitedly.

“Yes. As tragic as the circumstances are, this is the chance we need to get the maps for the mines.”

“Sir, you want to break into the mayor’s building?” Ashe asked. “Is that really a good idea?”

“If we want to save this town, this is our only chance,” Vincent explained as he glanced at me. “Right now in fact.”

I looked back to Ninety-one and Zero-zero. Ninety-one was heading off into town and Zero-zero was walking to me. Neither of them looked happy.

“Where’s he going?” I asked.

“To see Clay,” Zero-zero huffed. “What are those three talking about?”

“Vincent wants to get maps from the Mayor’s office,” I told him.

"Good morning,” Vincent said as he walked toward us. Smiling, he shook Zero-zero’s hand. “Oscar, correct?”

“Yes,” he said while looking over to Quince. “I heard about your plan for Sol.”

“It is more of a suggestion,” Vincent corrected. “However if you are interested in joining us, I’d be happy to have you along. I wasn't aware you were interested in helping us out."

"Are you sure about this?" I asked Zero-zero once Vincent walked back to the others.

"Anything to get away from that farm," he muttered.

"Alright everyone, let's get going," Vincent announced.

Just like that, we followed Vincent as he led us through the near-empty town. I said nothing when I noticed he took us directly to the building without needing to search for it. The sign on the building said ‘sheriff’s station.

Surprisingly the door to the office was left unlocked. The inside was one large room with two wooden desks on either side that were facing one another. One of them had ‘Mayor’ artfully carved on the front. On the walls were several maps that sat in wooden frames. A few of them were of the town during different time periods, given by the dates that were printed in the bottom corners. Others were of people.

“Quince, do you mind keeping watch for me?” Vincent asked.

“Uh, yeah, sure,” she responded as she moved back to the door.

“What’s your plan?” Zero-zero asked.

“We can’t risk moving them, so we need to take pictures,” Vincent explained.

“We need to find the maps to the mines,” Vincent explained as he began moving to one of the desks. “Try not to rearrange anything as you look.”

Zero-zero stood on the other side of the door from Quince. I didn’t understand why we had to keep watch, the town was empty after all, but I wasn’t about to complain. I didn’t want to be here either way. We began looking through every draw and shelf in the room. I was grateful for the limited technology of Coal Grove, knowing that there wasn't the possibility of security cameras watching us.

On the shelf I was looking through, there were wooden boxes filled with files. They were labeled by dates. Most of the documents inside were hand-written in pen. The writing was hard to make out, not that it mattered. One box, a small one, rattled as I lifted the lif from it. Inside it was an old gun and a couple of bullets. The gun looked worn and had several scratches in the metal. The bullets weren't in any better shape. I wondered if it still even worked.

"I found them," Ashe announced.

Everyone besides Quince gathered at a desk as Ashe set several worn papers. Despite the papers being discolored and torn at the edges, the inked lines were still clearly visible.

"Okay," Vincent said, "now we should leave before anyone sees us."

"How far are the mines from here?" Zero-zero asked as we headed away from the building.

"It is less than an hour if we drive there," Vincent explained, "I can't fit all you in my car."

"We can take the van," Quince said. Zero-zero frowned at her. She had no right to offer to use a vehicle that wasn't hers.

"We can take my SUV," Ashe offered.

"Very well," Vincent agreed.


	8. Chapter 8

The drive was predictably quiet. Ashe drove while Vincent directed him from the passenger seat. He had Ashe drive around the fence of the town until we reached Vincent's vehicle. It was a black pickup truck that looked to only have two seats. We stopped there long enough to retrieve a few flashlights from it. Afterward, Ashe followed the path through the grass worn down from Vincent's truck driving over it so many times.

In the back seat, I sat in the middle, with Zero-zero and Quince on either side of me. It was less so out of choice and more because the middle seat was too small for Zero-zero. And we didn't want Quince between us. Hue sat on my and Zero-zero's laps. He was eyeing Quince.

I watched out the front window as the orange-brown grassland passed us by. I couldn't help by note how it was the same color as Hue's new spot.

The entrance of the mines wasn't what I had expected. I had pictured something akin to a rock formation with a hole cut into it. What we drove up to was a small, yet thick cluster of trees. They stood taller than any building in town. Their trunks were twice as thick as a person and covered in dark brown bark. They were large and were the same color as the grass. Once Ashe parked the SUV, Vincent led us through the tiny forest. Everyone but Hue had a flashlight in hand.

Roots thicker than my arms covered the ground, making walking difficult. Above us, the thick branches blacked out most of the sunlight and with it the heat. A cold chill moved through me as we moved deeper into the darkening forest. I tried to listen for anything around us but heard nothing but our own footsteps. This place felt so odd compared to Coal Grove. Were we even in the same area anymore?

"Are you alright?" I heard Zero-zero ask.

"I'm fine," I told him.

Why had we come here? Didn't we both agree that Vincent's idea wasn't worth the risk? Why had we suddenly broken into the sheriff's office to steal the maps and were now heading to the mines? Was I always going to get myself dragged into these situations? Hadn't I learned from Burilmont?

We stopped a large hole in the ground. It was square and lined by thick wooden beams. A few tiny branches grew out from the beams and had the beginnings of new leaves growing on them. The grass around the open looked undisturbed and moved peacefully in the gentle breeze. Sunlight from overhead shined rays around the opening. Everything about it had an odd calmness to it that felt out of place.

Without a word, Vincent neared the opening in the ground. He turned on his flashlight and began descending into the mine. I hung back and listened as his feet hit against the unseen wooden steps. Ashe and Quince were the first to follow after him.

"We don't have to go down if you don't want to," Zero-zero said.

"We came all the way out here. We might as well keep going," I said, already resigning myself to whatever will come.

It was the first time I'd been underground before. Let along in such darkness. Even so close to the exit the air felt stale and lifeless. One I hit the bottom step, I scanned my flashlight around. I'd seen a few pictures of the mines back when I read the history of Coal Grove. They were blurry and without color. They held nothing compared to seeing them in person. We stood in a large natural opening with the ceiling standing at least fifty feet high. The walls around us were at about twice the distance from each other.

Miss-shapen cone-like things hung from the ceiling and stuck up from the ground. Some of them connected to form odd-shaped columns. Walking further in, I noticed equipment that I'd seen in pictures were littered sparsely across the uneven ground. The iron parts were worn and rusted over, while the wooden handles looked pristine and well kept. That few that sat in the thin sunlight at the entrance looked to have sprouted roots that have dug into the ground.

"Where should we look first?" Quince said too loudly. Her voice bounced off the stone walls.

Looking toward her, I saw that she had her flashlight pointed down one of the man-made tunnels that branched out from the cavern we stood in. It was square in shape and was held up by similar beams like the one at the entrance.

"We should try one of the tunnels on the ends," Ashe suggested.

"How far down are we going?" Zero-zero asked.

"Not too far," Vincent told him. "They say the coyotes stay here during the day, but I've never encountered one or seen a trace of them. Regardless, It would be better if we didn't venture too deep with what little we have."

He waved as toward him as he approached a large rock with a flat top. He and Ashe gently spread out the maps as the rest of us gathered around. The first map they laid out was of the cavern we were standing in. It displayed the tunnels that branched out from it and marked them with a letter and number. The other maps had corresponding letters but with different numbers marking further tunnels branched off.

"This path doesn't reach far, it might be a good place to start off," Vincent suggested as he pointed to one of the maps.

"Wouldn't it be better to start with a larger one so we can get it over with?" Quince asked.

My attention drifted away from them as I noticed Hue begin to wander away. He was smelling the ground but didn't appear to be following a scent. I kept my flashlight trailed on him so I wouldn't lose him. With him unable to fit his harness as a dog, there was no way to keep him next to me. I'd have to see about getting a collar for him or looping the leash around his neck. The last thing I needed was him sprinting off into the mines. But at least for now, he just seemed to be bored.

"What will the core look like?" I heard Zero-zero ask.

"It had not set form," Vincent answered. "It can be an object. An animal. A person. Even a place. There is no way of knowing until we're upon it. However, it is always in a place where its energy and power is the strongest."

I watched as Hue approached what looked to be a large tree branch. It sat amongst broken rocks with a pickaxe stabbed into it. The wood looked just as alive as the trees on the surface. It even still had left in it. Although, the metal pickaxe looked worn by time. It looked so out of place underground.

"So we're just hoping to get lucky and know when we see it?" Zero-zero commented.

"By using the cosmic sphere, we can search out the core. It will be drawn to its power," Vincent told him."

"Then why haven't you used it to lead you to the core yet?" Zero-zero asked.

"It has a limited range depending on how much energy the sphere has within it," Ashe explained.

"How long will it take for it to get more energy?" Quince asked.

"It gradually collects what is in the air around it," Vincent said. "The speed depends on the concentration in the area. This place does have much, so it could take days for a decent amount to be accumulated. That is why we need to search the tunnels. If we can get close to the core, the sphere will lead us the rest of the way."

I trailed my flashlight around where Hue stood. The ground was covered with dirt and pebbles. Pressed within it were everyone's shoe prints and Hue's paws. Nothing else. There was no wind in the cavern. Anything from last night should still be visible. I shined my light around, looking as far into the darkness as I could, but saw nothing.

"What are you doing?" Quince asked sharply.

"Did you see something?" Zero-zero asked, worry lining his voice.

"Coyotes leave footprints right?" I asked. I was sure of the answer but hoped I'd be wrong.

"Yes. Why?" Ashe questioned.

Another beam of light began scanning around the cavern as Vincent looked around as well. Soon everyone was searching for any signs of the coyotes that supposedly called these mines their home. The cavern quickly and simultaneously felt too large and too small to stay in. No one moved from the rock.

"There might be another way in," Quince offered. The idea made sense but brought little comfort.

"Have you seen one of these coyotes?" Zero-zero asked.

"I have not," Vincent replied.

"But you brought us here anyway?"

"I'll admit, my eagerness got the better of me," Vincent said, still shining his flashlight around. "I had planned on capturing footage of them before bringing all of you down here."

"How about you do that first and we can come back after we know what we're dealing with?" Zero-zero chided.

"Very well," Vincent agreed.

I called Hue to me and we began heading back to the steps. I couldn't help but attempt to listen for anything that could be hiding in the dark. I heard nothing but our too loud footsteps.

Everyone kept their flashlights pointing around themselves. Maybe they were hoping to find something to put their minds at ease. Maybe they just want to be prepared if something does appear. Once we were a few feet from the steps and within the sunlight from outside, I shined my flashlight at the ceiling of the cavern. I saw what looked to be tree roots, twisted together and around rocks. The metal parts of old pickaxes and shovels stuck out from them. I said nothing to the others about it.

Vincent retrieved a video recorder that he had in Ashe’s SUV. He placed it near the entrance of the cavern. After promising to return to us with the footage tomorrow, we left to go back to Coal Grove. Part of me hoped that we wouldn’t go back down there again.


	9. Chapter 9

"I was looking all over for you, were did you go?" Ninety-one scolded the moment he spotted Zero-zero and me in town.

"I didn't know you'd be looking for us," Zero-zero responded.

"With the other farm gone, there are more people at Clay's to make sure the town has enough food. I was looking for you two to get your help as well," Ninety-one explained. "Where were you?"

"Vincent was showing us around outside the town," Zero-zero said hesitantly.

"It's dangerous out there."

"There was nothing out there," I told him.

He looked at me and gave a small sigh. "Well, just stay close to town. With so many people getting taken, I'm worried."

“Sorry,” Zero-zero said. “We were just looking for something to do.”

“Come to the farm, there is plenty to do there.”

Neither Zero-zero nor I argued against going. It wasn’t like we had much better to do anyway.

Just as Ninety-one had said, Clay’s farm was filled with people. They moved about in the late morning sun, pulling vegetables and speaking with one another. Dogs playfully milled about the fields, sticking close to their owners. A handful of people greeted us as we passed them. Some only passed us brief glances. Most completely ignored us, which was fine by me.

The three of us went to the area of the farm covered in corn and worked there. I preferred these than pulling up carrots or any other plants that grew close to the ground. I had expected it after seeing them this morning, but it was odd seeing Ninety-one and Zero-zero being so quiet around on another. Though we couldn’t see them through the tall plants around us, there must have been people nearby. Maybe they didn’t want to talk about it when there was a chance someone would overhear. Maybe they didn’t want me to overhear them.

I pushed my mind to think about the cavern and what little we had seen. If the coyotes did use that place as their home, then why hadn’t we seen any signs of them? Were they in a different mine? Maybe they used a different way to get in and out? It would be odd for them to use the steps, especially in the dark of the night.

Vincent would show us what they looked like by this time tomorrow. After that, would we go back down into the mines, confident in what we would expect? If the coyotes were different that we assumed, then what? If it turned out they were something we had no chance of handling, would we give up? Would we have to leave the town for safety? There is so much we don’t know, about here or anywhere else.

Time passed unnoticed as we continued to harvest the corn. The only sounds being our own footsteps and the wind. So when the sound of barking erupted, we were surprised. It was a single dog making the sound. As we looked around, we saw no one else bothered by the noise. In fact, no one else was around. I looked to Hue, who was on his feet and looking to where the sound was coming from.

The plants rustled as the dog moved closer. Honey Bun came running towards us. She circled around us once before heading straight for Ninety-one. She tripped over herself as she stopped next to him. Her tail excitedly hit against his leg as Ninety-one reached down to pet her.

“Where did you come from, girl?” he asked with a smile. She wiggled out from under Ninety-one’s grip and trotted back to where she had emerged. She turned back and gave a short bark. “Would you like us to go with you?”

“You’re really going to follow her?” Zero-zero asked when Ninety-one began walking.

“Of course. Clay must want us for something. He sends out Honey Bun to retrieve things since it is easier than him finding it. Come on, we can use this as a chance to take a break.”

We said nothing on the matter as we picked up our baskets of corn and followed him and Honey Bun out of the cornfield. With the room to see, I noticed that she was leading us to the farmhouse. I also realized that there were far fewer people working in the fields.

The farmhouse, like other buildings of the town, was made of well-crafted wood. It was a single-story building with a wide porch that covered the entire front of the house. There were no windows on the front, instead, it had mounted shelves with potted flowers. There was also a two chair dining set. The door was left half-opened, allowing for Honey Bun and us to easily walk in.

The living room was well lit by oil lamps that hung on the wall. Inside was a comfortable looking living room and dining room set. Clay sat at the table. He waved us over as we entered.

"There y'all are. Come, have a seat. I have lunch ready," Clay called happily. The table was set for four people. The plates were filled with cooked meat and vegetables. The glass cups filled with iced tea.

We all took a seat at the table. Ninety-one next to Clay. Zero-zero across from Ninety-one and me next to him.

Clay set two metal bowls filled with cooked meat on the ground. Honey Bun took one and slid a metal bowl across the floor to Hue. He only approached it when she left to eat from the other bowl. We thanked Clay for the food and began eating.

"I'd like to thank y'all for helping today," Clay said. "And the other times as well. It's having constant company around here."

"It's no problem," Ninety-one said. "I'm not used to the work, but I like being out here. It's calming."

"From what you've told me, y'all've been through a lot," Clay remarked.

Zero-zero stopped eating. "What specifically did you tell him?"

"Just that we were forced to leave our homes twice," Ninety-one answered. "Even if I did mention the other things, it wouldn't be a big deal."

Zero-zero looked as if he wanted to say something, but decided against it. "Anyway, how long will it be until that farm will be rebuilt?"

"It likely won't be anytime soon. Not with so many people getting taken in such a short amount of time and the issue of food. There's too much work to do, to spare the time. We're likely going to expand the other farms first."

"That's good for you, right?" Zero-zero asked. "You're going to get more help here."

"The help is nice, but in one day, most of the crops have already been harvested for this season. Besides Honey Bun and Carrot Stick, I don't have any animals to tend to." With his elbow on the table, Clay rested his head in his hand. "With the Manchester's and their farm gone, meat and milk are going to be scarce for a while. A lot of people don't have jobs now. The town'll still provide for them, but that much free time is going to people antsy to fill it. The people here like routine. It takes their mind off of the less pleasant things around here."

"You mean the coyotes?" Zero-zero asked.

"Yeah," Clay said with a dejected sigh. "There've been two families taken in two nights. It's never been so frequent before. No one wants to say it, but people are getting scared."

"Yes, the sheriff mentioned that," Zero-zero said. "He seems to think Vincent might have something to do with it."

"He doesn't, does he?" Ninety-one asked.

"He doesn't even know what the coyotes look like," Zero-zero said dismissively.

"The sheriff is a bit superstitious," Clay told us. "Him and his father. He's a cold man but he's just as scared as the rest of us."

"Do you think it's still safe to live here?" Ninety-one questioned.

"Not really anywhere else to go," Clay responded. "I don't know much else other than how to farm. The same goes for everyone else here. Who's to say that other towns don't have the same problem."

"I can assure you, this isn't a common issue," Zero-zero told him.

I couldn't help but compare this place to Heita and Goldsboro. Out of the three, this place had the least disastrous of the problems. But I also haven't had to deal with it for my entire life. Who knew how many people died from the coyotes. How many of them did Clay know personally?

"On a happier note, have y'all considered moving here?" Clay asked with a smile. "I can promise you, the town isn't always so, well, you know."

"That would depend on a number of things," Zero-zero answered.

After breakfast, Clay said that he needed to take a trip into town to drop off the food that had been harvested. We helped him load barrels into the cart that was attached to his horse, Carrot Stick. Once everything was loaded into the cart, Ninety-one, Zero-zero, and I sat in the back, while Clay rode on Carrot Stick’s back. By now, other people had returned to the farm and were back to picking more vegetables. Clay waved at a few of them as we went.

“I thought you dropped the food off to people’s homes?” Zero-zero asked.

“That’s normally how it works for me since I have a smaller farm. But now that we’re expecting a shortage of food, everything’s going to the storehouse so it can be rationed out.”

The storehouse, as Clay called, was in a part of the town that I hadn’t been to before. It was a single floor building that took the space of three homes. There were other people with horse-pulled carts as well who were unloading barrels of food. Ninety-one and I unloaded the barrels while Clay and Zero-zero took them inside. Honey Bun followed with Clay, while Hue laid in the cart watching us.

As we worked, I caught sight of sheriff Dixon walking passed. He looked upset by something. His father and two others were with him.

“What do you think about staying here?” Ninety-one asked.

“I wouldn’t mind it,” I said hesitantly. “Where would we stay?”

“The Halwell’s will probably let us stay with them until we can get a place of our own,” He said. “Maybe we could stay with Clay.”

“Are you two friends?” I asked him.

“Yeah, you could say that,” He said with a smile. “You and Ze- Oscar should get to know him more. I think you both will like him.”

After about an hour everything had been put into the storehouse for the people who worked there to sort through.

“There won’t be much more to do at the farm, so why don’t I take y’all to the inn?” Clay offered.

“That would be great, thanks,” Zero-zero said tiredly as he climbed into the cart. Clay chuckled as pulled on Carrot Stick’s reins. At the inn, Lora and Quince were sitting on the porch drinking what looked to be iced tea. Lora waved at us as we approached.

“We have lunch waiting for you inside,” She called out. “Ashe and his friend are already here.”

Before any of us had a chance to respond, a low howl sounded from in the cart. All eyes went to Honey Bun. When she howled again, Lora’s dog, Nutmeg joined in. More howling rose from in the distance as other dogs joined in.

“Get inside!” Clay shouted as he jumped off of his horse. He pulled at the straps that held Carrot Stick to the cart.

On the streets, people were running, scrambling to get away from whatever the howling meant. Like Clay, people separated their horses from carts. Adults grabbed children and pulled them into the nearest open door. Dogs howled as they followed their owners.

I looked up as a low rumble sounded overhead. The sky was getting dark as clouds swirled and materialized out of the nothing. In minutes, they covered the town, blocking out nearly all of the sunlight. Light flashed within them as thunder rolled again. Heavy winds whipped through the town.

The cart jolted as Carrot Stick was released. Quince and Lora jumped out of the way as the horse rushed onto the porch. Hue and I were the last out of the cart as the rain began to fall. The moment the first drops hit, the ground began to shift under me. Hue managed to jump and make it to the porch before the grass began to move. It grew quickly, entangling itself on my feet. I tripped.

Ninety-one caught me. But the grass kept growing, wrapping itself tightly around my leg. I was on the steps but couldn’t pull myself any further. It was starting to hurt. Looking back, I saw the grass creep further up my leg, some of it latching onto my other one.

Strong arms hugged around my sides. In one hard pull, I was ripped from the grass. Clay all but carried me up the steps and onto the back part of the porch.

“Are you okay?” Ninety-one asked frantically as he looked me over.

“I’m fine,” I said, shaking the grass from my leg. It fell off harmlessly. “Thanks.”

“No problem,” Clay said with a gentle smile.

We all looked out to the town. All around the grass was growing rapidly. It stretched upwards as first, reaching up until it became too tall to support itself. As it began to dip down, the blades tangled into themselves, twisting into knots that only grew tighter and more complicated. Panicked shouts sounded through the storm from people and animals that weren’t fast enough to escape the rains.

“Can’t we help them?” Quince asked.

“Not without getting caught too,” Lora said.

“Let’s head inside,” Clay suggested.

Carrot Stick remained on the porch as we headed into the inn. We went back to the dining room, where Mary, Rosalie, Ashe, and Vincent were sitting. We joined them at the table and told them about the rain.

“Sol got caught for a moment, but Clay pulled them out,” Lora told her mothers.

“Well, I’m glad everyone’s alright,” Roselie said.

"Great," Mary said, his voice filled with annoyance. "Just what we need. Rain on top of our other issues."

"Are rainstorms here always this strange?" Zero-zero asked.

“Unfortunately, yes,” Mary said.

"I'm glad I got us here when I did. Getting caught by the rain can be dangerous," Clay told us.

"Does it do the same thing to people?" I asked him as I whipped the rain from my hair.

He shook his head. "Thankfully, no. It only makes the glass grow like that, but if a person or animal gets caught up in it, it can take hours to cut through it all to even get to them. And that's only if the grass hasn't crushed or strangled them. If someone's trapped at night, the coyotes won't have any trouble getting to them."

"How much will the grass grow?" Zero-zero asked, concerned.

"That all depends on how long the rain lasts. Storms don't aren't common, but they last a long while. Y'all might be spending the night here," Mary said casually. "Maybe longer depending on how long it'll take to cut out a path to town."

"Can we just walk over it?" I asked.

"Not without getting tangled up," Rosalie said. "It's rare that it'll happen, but there's a chance a few coyotes could be hiding in there."

"So we're going to be here for a while," Vincent said while looking at the dining-room door.

"Yep," Mary spoke, "Maybe even a day or two. So make yourselves comfortable."

"You don't seem too worried about this," Zero-zero commented.

"We are," Clay said, blindly looking into the distance. "there just isn't much anyone can do about it right now."

"After the grass is cut down, everything will be back to normal, right?" Ashe asked.

"Well you see, the grass overtakes everything, people, animals, and plants. Whatever food that hasn't been gathered and stored is gone. The town's used to these sorts of things, so we're prepared, but for this to happen right after the loss of the Manchester's farm is going to cause some problems," Mary explained.

"Oh," Zero-zero muttered. "I didn't think of that."

Rosalie sighed. "Yes, well, we'll find a way through it. The town's been through worse.

First, the coyotes that take people in the night and now this rain that nearly destroys their lifestyle. I didn't understand the people in town found normality with these things around them. After a while, I went to sit on the porch and watch the rain. Lora and Quince sat silently with me. The grass didn't look like grass now that it was all tangled into itself. Now it appeared more like a large brown, wet mass that shifted and moved against itself. At times, it looked as if it was trying to breathe.

“How do you get used to this?” Quince asked.

Lora shrugged. “I don’t know. It’s just normal for us.”

After dinner, Mary and Rosalie had us move the tables around so there was enough room for Carrot Stick to stay in the dining room. They had opened up rooms for Vincent and Clay to sleep in. When night eventually came I listened to the sound of the rain. The storm was strong and muted out some of the noise from the ‘coyotes’. It didn’t make sleep come any easier.

I couldn’t imagine something like this being normal for me. I could tell Ninety-one wanted to live here. If he decided to, Zero-zero and I wouldn't have a reason to argue. I didn't mind this place either, for the most part at least. But even during the times when everything seemed normal, I felt off by being here. Maybe because it was so different from the cities I've lived in. I was willing to get used to it if I had to. I could tell what Zero-zero wanted. I rarely did. I would have to ask them about what we would do at some point, but I couldn't find the time. Not with the others around.


	10. Chapter 10

It was still raining when we woke up the next morning. Carrot Stick had been let out of the dining area by the time I came down from my room. She was still out there after breakfast, eating at the grass from the steps. I sat outside a good distance away from her, watching the rain and grass. Tumbleweeds sat, tangled in the blades of grass. It seems even they weren't spared from its grip. I wondered how they managed to blow this far into town.

I came out here hoping to see if a coyote had gotten caught in the grass as well. Unfortunately, there was nothing out here that wasn't here yesterday.

I sat with my phone in my lap. The scanner was connected to it. I had it pointed out into the grass. I was hoping that if there were a coyote trapped out there, then maybe the scanner could pick it up and I'd finally get to see what they looked like.

I could say that I wasn't that surprised when the scanner didn't find one. Although, it did scan other things amongst the grass. A dog and two horses had been caught in the rain since yesterday. According to the information that came up on my phone, all three were dead. Suffocation, how the program chose to word it. I stopped scanning after that.

Hue was laying next to me. I think he was used to being a dog now. It was much easier to take him places. I still didn't understand why he brought me the scanner in the first place.

Was this supposed to be the core of Burilmont? That's what I asked him to bring me, but this didn't seem like it would be one. But I've also never seen a core before. Would I even know if I came across one? Vincent did say that it could look like anything. Maybe he would know about it.

Getting to my feet, I went upstairs. Hue tiredly followed behind. Vincent's room was next to Ashe's. The door was open. He was sitting at a small desk with Quince standing next to him. She was holding the cosmic sphere in one hand and a carrot in the other. She looked to be concentrating.

"Hello, Sol," Vincent said, noticing me in the doorway. "Your friend wanted to try and use the sphere's power."

I ignored the part of my mind that wanted to correct him about my friendship with Quince. We weren't strangers, but being friends was well away from the relation we had with each other.

"She isn't having much luck," he continued. Quince glanced at me from the corner of her eye. "Would you like to try?"

"No, thank you. I wanted to ask you something." I walked in and held out the scanner, now unplugged from my phone, towards him. "Can you tell if this is a core or not?"

He looked it over but didn't take it. "Why do you ask?"

"Back in Burilmont, Ashe wanted me to get the core from that city. Hue is able to sense cores, at least I think he can. When I asked him to bring me the core, he came back with this. Shortly after he used the core's power."

"I see," he said while taking the scanner. He looked it over for a moment. "Although it is possible for a core to take the form of common objects, this is not a core."

"Oh. Okay," I said while taking the scanner back. Why did Hue bring me this?

"Here," Quince said while shoving the sphere and carrot in my hands. "Why don't you try. Who knows, you might be able to make it work."

"I don't want to," I told her.

"Why not? What are you afraid of? Vincent said that the power in it isn't strong, it's not like you can do any damage." What was the point of her doing this? Whether I could make it work or not didn't change the fact that having Hue use the core's power was still dangerous. If she couldn't use it there wasn't any evidence that I could. "Vincent said that all you have to do is envision what you want to happen."

"There is a bit more to it than that," Vincent said, "but it is a good starting point. Imagine that the carrot is now wooden."

I looked at the sphere in my hand. The symbol was still barely visible. Doing as Vincent suggested, I concentrated on the carrot. I did expect anything to happen as I began to envision the carrot like a wooden carving, rough and unpolished. My palms began to tingle like there wasn't enough blood flowing to them. The symbol on the sphere glowed white as spots of brown formed over the vegetable. In less than a minute the carrot was solid wood. Tiny branches were even beginning to sprout from its sides.

"Very impressive," Vincent said thoughtfully.

"Give me that," Quince demanded. She grabbed the carrot from me. I flinched as the tiny branches scraped against my hand. They hadn't cut me, but the dull pain was still irritating. "How did you get it to work so easily?"

I did what she wanted, why was she angry now? Regardless of her reason, it wasn’t my problem to deal with.

The walls began to creak and groan. The sound was deep and loud enough to be felt through the floor. Vincent got to his food as we looked around ourselves. Nothing in the room changed. Whatever was happening, it must have been going on outside. It was almost the same sound as the ones during the night, but it has never been this loud. Shouting could be heard from downstairs.

"The coyotes," Quince gasped before she turned and pushed past me to get out of the room.

I moved to follow her but was stopped by Vincent. "Hand me the sphere."

I didn't understand. Why was that important now? I held the sphere out to him. As I did, I realized that the symbol was still glowing. The inside of the sphere was also alight with a soft white glow. It shined the brightness under my hands. As Vincent carefully took it from me the light died from the sphere.

I looked at my hands. Somehow, the light from the sphere hovered over them in small orbs. As the lights dimmed and faded away, I noticed tiny symbols within them. They were all the same square symbol as on the sphere. With the light from both my hands and the sphere gone, the noises outside stopped and everything returned to a still quiet. The symbol on the sphere was clearer now.

"Was that supposed to happen?" I asked Vincent.

"This is the first time I've seen anything like this before," he said as he looked over the sphere. "But I believe that this is a sigh."

"Of what?"

"A good question," he answered. "But for now let's go see the others and make sure they are alright. I'm sure your father is worried about you."

As I followed him out I didn't mention that Ninety-one wasn't my father. I was more concerned with what just happened. Everyone was gathered near the front door and looking outside.

"Is normal for the rain to do this too?" I heard Ninety-one ask.

"No," Clay told him. "The rain only affects the grass. I've never seen this before."

Vincent and I made our way to the open door. The others passed worried looks to us and themselves. Lora looked afraid. The dogs stood close to their owners, clearly unnerved themselves. Vincent and I moved to step onto the porch where Quince was standing.

It was still raining heavily, but now amongst the overgrown grass were what looked like tree branches. They were jagged and misshapen as if they had been broken at some point and continued to grow. They stuck out of the ground like they'd been placed there. There were taller ones, some stood high over the roofs of buildings. Unlike trees, there was no trunk to them, their branches instead stick out every which way, intersecting and entangling themselves in the trees around them.

From what I could see, they had sprouted up all over town. Including from the sides of buildings. Every building in town was covered in the branches, like overgrown vines. Some of the branches reached out like broken arms and long, clawed fingers. They stood in dark contrast against the wooden structures. In the darkness of the cloud-filled sky, Coal Grove looked like a nightmare.

"You did this," Quince whispered. I doubt anyone else heard over the sound of the rain and their own muttering.

"You don't know that," I whispered back. I didn't doubt that I most likely was the one who did this, but the last thing I needed was her accusing me of anything.

"You heard what Clay said-" Quince began. She was stopped by Vincent stepping between us.

"There are many things that could have caused this," he told us, maintaining a low voice. "This could easily be the result of the town's core releasing its power. Either way, blaming each other will not change what is happening. For now, we must wait and come up with a plan."

"A plan for what?" I asked.

"If this is the result of the core, then that can only mean that it will release its energy soon. We need to get to the mines and find it before that happens," he explained

"But we can't do that with it raining," Quince said. "and we still have to worry about the coyotes."

"The sound we just heard was similar to these so-called coyotes. That with the fact that no one has actually ever seen makes me doubt that there are any," Vincent told us.

"Then what's taking people at night?" I asked.

"That is a good question. But not one we will get an easy answer to," he said.

While we had been talking, the others decided that it would be a good idea to close the door. To Clay's reluctance agreement, Carrot Stick was to be left outside. After that, we were back to waiting for the rain to stop.

"I'm going to talk with Ashe about what we should do," Vincent told Quince, and I quietly once everyone else had moved out of the front room. "I won't mention what happened upstairs, and I think it would be best if you two kept quiet about it as well. But Sol, I want you to strongly consider my offer. You clearly have a talent for using a core, this one at least. Having you would as a member of Recall would be a great help."

"I don't know," I told him. "Nicholas likes it here. I don't want to leave without him or Oscar."

Vincent nodded. "Understandable, but know that I'm not asking you to leave your family. They would be welcome to join us as well. Simply reconsider. If you weren't the cause of what happened outside, then this place won't last for too much longer. Recall will offer a place to stay. Though we do move around constantly, we offer security in numbers and experience. Just think about it, alright."

"Okay," I said quietly. I headed upstairs afterward. I wanted to get away from this place, this house, and this town, to someplace where things weren't so confusing and uncertain. I wanted to be in my library, but with so many people in the inn now, I didn't think I could go missing so easily. Especially not with Quince eyeing me down either.

“What was that thing you shoved Vincent?” She asked. I didn’t answer her. “Did your dragon bring it to you? What does it do?”

“Does it matter?” I responded back.

"By the way, when did you get a dog? Doesn't he have the same name as your dragon?" Quince asked as she followed me into our shared room. I ignored her. "I didn't know he was able to transform."

"How's your arm doing?" I asked her. "Is it healed yet?"

"It's getting there," she responded as she touched the stop where Hue had bit her. "But more importantly, do you really think that it wasn't you who made those plants grow outside? You heard Vincent, you clearly-"

I cut her off. "Will you leave me alone. You bothering about this isn't going to make me change my mind."

"Well, it should! Everyone else is treating you like a scared child but you're not. You're just too afraid to take a chance!"

"A chance at what, getting people hurt? You don't know anything about cores or what kind of power they have. So stop acting like you do." Instead of going further into the room, I pushed past her to head into the hallway. "If you want to do it so badly, then why don't you just ask Vincent to teach you."


	11. Chapter 11

With minimal explanation, Rosalie agreed to give me a separate room. Apparently, our shouting the other night was loud enough for her and Mary to hear. With the situation outside, she said it would be in poor taste to charge us for use of the extra room. So with my own space and a door to lock, I had the freedom to open the door to the library.

I felt calmer just by being in here. This was the only place that remained constant in my life ever since leaving Goldsboro. I sighed and looked around the room. Cans of food, clothes, and bottled water still sat on the bookshelves. I had no idea what I was hoping to do with them. On the shelf behind me sat my rabbit toy, the mask from Heita, and a few other things.

I spent the rest of the day in the library, only leaving to eat and when Ninety-one came to check on how I was doing. That evening, I took my clothes from Quince's room and placed them in my new one. It was nice to finally be alone. I was prepared to spend all of the next day there too, but a knock on the door to the inn room around mid-morning forced me to come out. When I opened the door, I was surprised to see Lora standing on the other side.

"The sheriff is downstairs," she told me quietly. She sounded hesitant and something about her seemed off as if she was worried. "He wants to talk with you."

Whatever it was that he wanted, I knew it wouldn't be good. I followed her downstairs. The front door had been pushed back open. The sun was once again shining brightly over the town.

Ninety-one and the others were standing on the porch. Sheriff Dixon, his father, and a few others were standing in a path that had been cut from the overgrown grass and branches. Mary and Rosalie stood a bit away from them. Kora soon joined her mothers.

"Good. Now that everyone is here we can get this over with," The mayor said as I moved to stand by Ninety-one and Zero-zero.

"Ever since y'all came to our town strange things have been happening. Awful things. We lost more people to the coyotes in the last few days than in the past year. The folks here are kind-hearted. They didn't want to believe that you people could be behind something so awful and cruel. But now, faced with undeniable proof, everyone has come to accept what is before them. You people have brought evil into our town," Sheriff Dixon ended his speech by pointing at us.

"What evidence do you have to these accusations?" Vincent questioned.

"This inn, the only building you people reside in, is the only one without these damned branches on them," Dixon shot back. I looked behind me. Sure enough, the inn was clear of any branches. "You are all under arrest."

"Grant, do you honestly think these people are responsible for all this?" Clay spoke up "How do you suppose they did it then? Do you think they talked with the coyotes? That they magically grew the plants overnight? The inn not having branches is strange, I'll admit but it isn't proof of anything."

"It clearly shows that something wrong is going on here,"

“The town has decided. For the safety of the people who live here, these strangers will be held under watch until further decision on the matter is made,” Mayor Dixion declared.

“On what grounds?” Clay demanded, raising his voice. “They have done nothing wrong.”

“Look around you, Harrington!” The sheriff shouted. “This ain’t right. Things have been getting worse since the first of them came here in their strange metal carts. They’ve been going places they shouldn’t. Stealing from my office. They’re up to something and whatever it is, it ain’t good for us.”

“We haven’t stolen anything,” Ninety-one said defensively.

“Maybe not you,” the sheriff said while pointing at him. His hand then moved to me and Quince. “But your kid, little miss over there and those three men have. While we were off to mourn our dead, those five took it upon themselves to sneak themselves into my and my father’s office and stole maps to the mines. And then left town.”

“Those mines are off-limits,” the mayor said, a calm contrast to his son.

“Did you really do that?” Ninety-one whispered as he looked to Zero-zero and me.

"Yes," Zero-zero whispered back. Hearing this, Clay partially turned his head to look at Zero-zero.

"Why would you do such a thing?" Ninety-one hissed, not too quietly. It drew the attention of the mayor and sheriff.

"This place is dying," Vincent declared loudly so that everyone could hear him. "We were looking into why and to possibly find a way to stop it."

"You're talking nonsense," the sheriff said, brushing him off. "If there was anything wrong in this town, don't you think we'd've noticed it by now."

"You're blind to it. You all have spent your entire lives running from creatures that don't exist, fueled by fears and stores of that past," as Vincent continued to speak, I could see people from nearby buildings to listen. "We went down to the mines and found nothing. Not even footprints of the supposed creatures that live there."

"Well something is making those sounds at night," a man from the mayor's group shouted.

Vincent gestured over the town. "The same sounds from the night were heard just before these off plants emerged. It can be easily assumed that they are the cause."

"You expect us to believe that?" The sheriff asked angrily. "Quit trying to throw blame. You lot will come with us immediately."

"What should we do?" Quince whispered.

"We shouldn't fight them," Ashe said, looking at Vincent. "We wouldn't stand a chance. With the overgrown grass, we have no chance of escape either."

"What will happen after we're arrested?" Ninety-one asked.

"You will be tried for your crimes," mayor Dixon answered.

"He wasn't with us, you have nothing to arrest him for," Zero-zero said.

"He is one of you. That alone is enough," the sheriff said.

With a single look from the mayor, the others began to approach the inn. Their dogs walked in front of them, their teeth bared. Each of the people held ropes in their hands. They drag us away if they need to. Clay pushed himself in front of us. Honey Bun moved in front of him, barking as the group moved closer. The other dogs barked back.

"Don't do this," sheriff Dixon told Clay. "We'll take you too if we must. By force, if it comes to that."

"We don't intend to cause a problem. If imprisoning us will allow you all to see that we are no threat, then so be it," Vincent said while stepping off of the porch to stand in front of the Dixons' mob. The person closest to him moved up to him, the rope held out, ready to tie his hands.

"That won't be necessary," the mayor said. "As long as they cooperate."

The mayor looked over to the rest of us, waiting. Ashe was the first to step off of the porch. Without much of a choice the rest of us followed suit, Clay included. The sheriff and his father took the lead as we were led away from the inn and through the cut math in the overgrown grass. We were taken to a building clearly marked as ‘jail’ by a large wooden sign that sat just below the roof.

The inside opened to a small area were a desk and several chairs sat. The rest of the building was lined with barred cells. Each of us were placed in one.

Hue was ushered inside with me. There was a metallic clang as the door was closed and locked behind us. The cell was small housing only a wooden bed and a large box with a hole on the top that looked to be a toilet, also made from wood.

"What now?" Zero-zero asked from the ceil across from mine.

"The town has some cleaning up to do," the mayor said. "After that, we will discuss what we will do with you."

"And if you find that you have no proof of your accusations?" Clay asked, unlike the rest of us, he hadn't been put in a cell, so he stood outside of Ninety-one's.

"If that happens. Then they will be released," sheriff Dixon responded. "Now come on. We have a lot of work to do."

"I'm not going anywhere," Clay told him.

"You are part of this town. You will do your work," the sheriff said angrily.

"Lock me up if you have a problem with it."

The sheriff frowned. "Now is not the time to stand against your people. We are days away from facing a food shortage. The town does not have time for this. Our people don’t have time to waste on these strangers."

"But you had time to gather up a posse and make a show of arresting these people," Clay said calmly.

"I understand that you feel that we are being unfair," the mayor chimed in. "but try to understand that we are only trying to protect our people."

Clay said nothing in response. The sheriff huffed at him but left, the others leaving with him. Only once the door to the building close did Clay speak again.

"What were y'all looking for in those mines?" He asked no one in particular.

"Answers on what happens to this town at night," Vincent said.

"Did you find anything?"

"Nothing but some old mining tools," Ashe said.

"No coyotes?" Clay asked.

"There weren't even any tracks in the dirt," Quince said, speaking up.

"Why did you go down there? We were told it was dangerous and off-limits," Ninety-one said irritably. He looked at Zero-zero and me. "When were you planning to mention this to me?"

"There wasn't anything there to tell about," Zero-zero said defensively. "Besides, with the rain and everything else, it did seem important enough to mention."

"What did you mean by this place dying?" Clay asked.

"That is a hard story to believe," Ashe warned him.

"I'll keep an open mind," Clay said.

"We are not talking about just a few wild animals at night or overgrown plants," Vincent explained.

Clay crossed his arms. "I'm sure whatever it is I'm capable of handling it."

"Very well," Vincent said before launching into an explanation.

He began with the state of the world and how it was outside of his town. From there he went into how fragile places like this were. Which led to how little time Clay’s home possibly had left remaining until the core’s energy destroyed it. “

“You’re telling me that at some point the whole town’s gonna be destroyed because of some-” Caly paused “thing that’s somewhere in the city.”

“As strange as it is, yes,” Ashe said.

“We live in a harsh world,” Vincent told him. “It moves and changes in strange ways regardless if we are in the way or not. But that is why we are here. We are trying to find ways to keep your home and places like it safe.”

"Do you believe us?" Ninety-one asked.

"I want to, but I'm finding it kind of hard," Clay said as he ran a hand through his long dreadlocks.

"I would be happy to show you proof, but I would require my things from the inn," Vincent said, "and I doubt you would be allowed to retrieve it."

"Do you think they're going through our stuff?" Quince asked.

"I would put it past Grant to do something like that," Clay said irritably. "But with everything going on today, he might not. But I have to ask, do you have anything to hide?"

"No, we just don't want our personal property looked through," Zero-zero retorted. "If you don't believe us, it wouldn't be a surprise. The real world isn't exactly what someone would expect."

"Sol, show him Hue. I'm sure that will convince him," Ninety-one said, hopeful.

"I've met your dog before," Clay said, confused. "He's interesting, but that doesn't do us much good."

"Are you sure?" I asked. Who was to say that having Clay believe us and know about Hue would help anything. Dixon and his father have clearly made up their minds about us and have even gotten others from the town to believe we're the ones causing problems.

"It couldn't hurt," Ninety-one insisted.

"Okay." Hue was roaming around the prison cell, clearly unbothered by being locked in here. He looked up as I walked up and knelt by him. "Can you turn back to normal?"

I heard movement from outside the cell as a light engulfed Hue's body. Once it faded and was once again a dragon, I picked him up and took him to the front of the cell. I could feel Vincent staring from a few cells down but focused on Honey Bun who was standing in front of me. She stared with large curious eyes. I knelt down so she and Clay could see Hue better.

"Your dog can turn into a big lizard," Clay said with astonishment while walking up to my cell.

"A dragon, that is incredible," Vincent said with muted excitement.

Hue watched Clay as he approached us. "How does he do that? Are lizards like him common where y'all came from?"

"I don't really know a lot about him," I admitted. "But he's been with me as long as I can remember."

"Can he turn into other things too?" Clay asked.

"I think so, yes," I answered.

"We also believe that this animal may be the key to stabilizing this and other places," Vincent said.

"He can save my home?" Clay asked.

"We don't know for sure," Ashe admitted quickly before glancing at Vincent. "He is able to use the power of a core, but not control it. But with training and practice, there is a chance."

Clay half-turned toward Ashe's direction. "What happens if your idea doesn't work?"

"Then your town will fall to destruction. It may not be today, or maybe tomorrow. But it will happen eventually. I don't know how but I would guess it would have something to do with those branches out there or possibly something else. Speaking from experience, whatever does come to pass will kill everyone in the area," Vincent explained. "Will you help us to try and make this town safe?"

"What happens if you fail?" Clay asked warily.

"There is a slim chance of nothing happening. Admittedly there is a large chance of the core being set off and everything going wrong instantly," Vincent said.

Clay ran his hands over his face. "Y'all aren't making this easy. What if we gathered everyone up and left town? That's what you are doing right? It'd be rough, but we'd manage."

"The space between areas with cores is still dangerous," Ashe told him. "It's rare but at times things bleed out making it unpredictable. There's no telling what you could encounter."

"That's not to mention all the food, water, and other necessities that you would have," Vincent added. "We get by because our people are trained to face whatever this world might have. However, we still portion our food and water carefully. Needed medical supplies aren't always available. We lose people regularly. Living here may keep your people safe for a while, but eventually, you'll be forced to venture into other areas. Go into the wrong one at the wrong time and you will encounter a fate worse than what you will meet here."

The room fell into a tense silence.

"What do you suggest I do?" Clay asked.

"If you and your people don't want us touching your core we will respect that and leave," Vincent said. "But punishing us will not change the outcome. I asked that you talk to them, convince them to release us so we may go elsewhere, and try to save other, less populated places."

"I‐" Clay gave a heavy sigh. "I will give it my best shot."

We were silent as we watched Clay leave the prison. After a while, we each sat in our cell. On the bench, I held Hue in my lap as we waited for what would happen when Clay or the sheriff returned.


	12. Chapter 12

I was on my side, laying over the wooden bench and facing the wall. It was far from comfortable but it was better than the floor. The jail was dark because most of the wall lamps began to go out hours ago. No one had entered the building after Clay left. By now I was sure he wouldn’t come back for us. He had little reason to do so.

Hue sat on my hip as we listened to the sounds of the night. They were louder than last time. With my hand pressed to the wall, I could feel it vibrating. I could almost imagine the branches growing out of the building. Or were they sliding over the walls like overgrown vines? If they were the branches, then were did they go in the morning? I guess it didn’t matter at the moment.

All I could focus on was the sounds. It was just like when I activated the sphere last night. The image of the white glow and tiny floating symbols flashed in my mind. That didn’t happen when Vincent used the sphere. I tried to remember the feeling that went through my hands. It bothered me how easy it had been to use the sphere when Quince couldn’t.

Did it have something to do with what Mariah said about me being a Colonizer? That was the last thing I wanted. I didn’t know much about her or her children other than I didn’t want to be like them. Especially not after they forced us out of our home.

I forced my mind from memories of Burilmont and focused on the feeling under my hand. Maybe what happened yesterday was a fluke. Maybe Quince was just bad at using the sphere. Vincent said it was still a prototype, so who knows how it reacted to different people. It must have just been luck that the sphere lit up, and coincidence that the branches sprouted at the same time.

No matter how much I wanted to, I didn’t believe that. But it wasn’t as if proving myself right or wrong was an option right now, without the sphere. Regardless, I concentrated on the area up the wall under my hand. Again, I imagined the small square symbols and the light that they floated through. There was no white glow. No symbols appeared around my hand. I’ve never felt so much comfort from nothing.

When I pulled my hand from the wall, a needle of pain pricked at my palm. A tiny splinter had sprouted under where my hand was. It moved, growing until it was about the size of a toothpick. It was jagged and curled at the end in a way that resembled the square symbol. I snapped the twig from the wall and dropped it to the floor. I needed to sleep.

It was well into the next day when the doors to the jail were opened. I whispered for Hue to turn back to a dog as footsteps approached the cells. Sheriff Dixon passed the barred wall, glancing into mine and Zero-zero’s as he went.

“Our apologies for not coming to sooner to settle this,” the mayor’s voice was calm and seemingly pleasant. “Everyone’s just so busy with getting things sorted out. We only came to an agreement on what to do with our food situation late afternoon. Unfortunately, though yall were not accounted into the rationing we would have to implement. You understand don’t you?”

Zero-zero walled up to the bars of his cell and rolled his eyes. “What are you going to do with us?”

“Don't worry, we've decided on a fitting test to see if you're really telling the truth. If you fail, then at least we'll be rid of you,” the sheriff said with a sneer.

The mayor loudly cleared his throat. “What he means is, the town has agreed on a trial, of sorts, that will prove your innocence or not.”

“How will that be conducted?” Vincent asked.

"That will be discussed later," The mayor said. His son moved to Ninety-one's cell, the rope held in one of his hands. "To ensure the safety and peace of mind of our people, we need to have you restrained."

"We are hardly a danger to anyone," Vincent said impassively.

"Then you won't mind humoring us," the mayor retorted.

"If it will get us out of this prison, then fine," Ninety-one said tiredly. He must have gotten less sleep than usual.

Sheriff Dixon opened Ninety-one's cell and tied his hands together with one end of the rope. Pulling Ninety-one with him, Dixon moved to Quince's cell. She didn't say anything as her hands were also tied.

One by one the rest of us were added to the line of rope. I was the last to be let out. The sheriff glared as he tied me to the others. The rope was tight and scratched against my wrist. This was a bad idea, but what else could we do?

Lastly, the sheriff made a loop out of the rope end. Hue growled when the sheriff stepped towards him. Hue tried to jump away from him, but Dixon managed to throw the rope around his neck. Hue pulled but that only secured it around him. He chewed at the rope but didn't struggle.

We were led out of the jail and into the warm afternoon sun. Most of the grass from yesterday had been choppily cut down. Large branches still stood. All of them had marks where people had attempted to hack away at them.

There was a crowd gathered around the building. They were silent but I could tell from their expressions that the Dixon's had turned them against us. I wondered if we should have resisted being tied up. But would have made our situation worse and justified their suspicion.

"Our visitors have agreed to willfully test their speculating and soothe our concerns," the mayor announced. Several people in the crowd shifted and whispered to each other. The Halwells stood at the back of the group, Lora and their dogs included. Clay was there as well, although he stood closer to the front. "Regardless of the outcome, none of you will have anything to fear."

"These people believe that coyotes aren't the one's taking our friends and family during the night. They've gone so far as to break into my father's office and steal parts of our history to prove how right they were, "the sheriff declared. Angered muttering moved through the crowd. "So why don't we let them test their ideals?"

Dixon's father turned to us, pointedly looking at Vincent. "As punishment for theft, breaking and entering, as well as trespassing you all will be spending a night in the mines."

The crowd erupted with shouting, both for and against the revelation. Ashe and Vincent moved closer to each other to speak above the noise. Ninety-one and Zero-zero did the same. I felt an odd sense of fear in my chest. Vincent was sure that there were no coyotes out there, but that didn't mean there was nothing to be afraid of.

"You can't do that?" Clay's voice shouted above the others. He'd moved to the front of the crowd. With a hard glare, he watched the Dixon son. "How does risking their lives prove anything?"

"They themselves believe that there is nothing to fear," the mayor said calmly.

"We have doubts that simple animals are the source of your problems," Vincent clarified loudly.

"You don't know what a Coal Grove coyote is capable of. You haven't lived here long enough to understand them as we do," the sheriff said darkly.

"I'm willing to learn," Vincent retorted.

"You will," Dixon said back.

"Sending them out there is a death sentence," Clay shouted. "Is that really what you want?"

"Approaching the mines runs a chance of provoking the coyotes," mayor Dixon said. "By entering them, they have risked the lives of everyone here. They knew of this threat and still chose to go out there. This is the only way they can make amends for that."

"If anyone else has any objections now is the time to speak," the sheriff said to the crowd. They quickly fell silent.

"What will you do if they are right?" Clay asked after a moment.

"We will cross that bridge if we ever get there," the mayor answered.

"But-!" Clay tried.

"You are welcome to join them if you feel so strongly for their safety," the mayor said coldly. A tense silence filled the air.

"Fine." Everyone looked at Clay. "I'll go with them."

The sheriff almost looked surprised. "Very well. But don't think about trying anything, you have nowhere to run to."

"The rest of you can return to your work," mayor Dixon said to the crowd.

Holding the rope we were tied to, the sheriff led us down the steps of the jail and toward a waiting horse and cart. A single worn bag sat near the back of it. As we were herded onto the cart, I saw that the bag had cloth and potatoes in it. I felt a small comfort that they weren't sending us into the mines without anything.

Clay, the sheriff, and their dogs sat in the back with us as the cart began to move. The horse weaved the cart and the branched, occasional bumping a few of the smaller ones. The ride was silent, most of everyone was watching the sheriff while he glared into us. I chose to look over the town as we left it. The fence that encircled Coal Grove had the strange branches growing from it.

We ended up at a different mine entrance than the one we visited the other day. We were taken off the cart and had the bag of supplies dropped at our feet.

"If any of you return before tomorrow, you'll be tied to a post and left out all night," the sheriff threatened before leaving.

"They could have at least untied us," Quince muttered.

"I got it," Clay said. He began with untying Ninety-one's hands and worked his way down the line. "It'll be dark in a few hours. What's the plan?"

"I believe our best chance is to head into the mine and find a small cavern to stay in. Something closed off would be best," Vincent said.

"If there are coyotes, wouldn't that just trap us?" Clay asked.

"We'd be better off dealing with them from one direction than begin surrounded," Vincent explained.

"I thought you said there weren't any coyotes?" Ninety-one asked, frustration lining his voice.

"There aren't but there is something out here," Vincent said.

"What if we tried to get back to the cars?" Quince asked.

Ash shook his head. "It will be too long of a walk. Even if we did make it in time, I didn't have my keys."

"Neither do I," Vincent added. "There is also a chance that we would be noticed and captured."

"So all we can do is sit around and wait for the best?" Ninety-one said grimly.

"Not if we can find the core?" Vincent said. "If we find it and gain control of its power, then we should be fine."

"But we don't have the sphere with us," Ashe told him.

"I know, but we have Sol's pet. With it, we still have a chance," Vincent said confidently.

I stared into the dark mine entrance while ignoring the eyes on me. Why did it have to be like this? Why did things always have to go wrong? This place wasn't perfect, it wasn't as good as Burilmont, but it was enough. If we survived this, would things even go back to how they were? Would the people in Coal Grove even let us back into their town? Would we be forced to live with them constantly watching and waiting for us to wrong them? If this plan didn't work, if Hue couldn't get control of the core, then what will happen to us? Would we disappear like the people taken in the night? Would it be painful?

"Sol?" Ninety-one called softly.

"We might as well try," I said.


	13. Chapter 13

The bag left with us had a pack of matches among the food and water canteens in it. We used them to light large sticks that we found lying around outside of the mine. With them, we began making our way through the mine tunnels. Vincent led the way while Ashe kept at the back.

We kept close together as we made our way through the dark tunnels. Unlike the other mine, the entrance of this one didn’t open up into a natural cave. Instead, there was a straight man-made tunnel. It was held up by large wooden beams. As we moved deeper into the mine, the beams became less neat and began looking more like oddly shaped tree trunks. Some even appeared to have bark on them.

The darkness was suffocating. The shadows seemed to move as the light passed over the uneven walls of the tunnel. The air was humid and filled with dust. The slight breeze that came from the entrance was long gone. Sweat was making my clothes stick to my skin. I couldn’t imagine what it was like to work in such a place every day.

Eventually, we arrived at a place were the mine opened up and branched out into different directions. Looking around, I could see metal hooks with old and broken lamps still hung. A few and metal root-like growths wrapped around them.

“Do you see that?” Vincent asked as he approached one of the splitting tunnels.

He lowered his torch to the ground, allowing the firelight to illuminate what looked to be large roots that stuck up from the rocky ground. A smaller segment of it had grown around the base of a support beam but didn’t look to be a part of it. The rest of the room led further into the darkness.

“What’s something like that doing here,” Clay asked. “Where too far down to be from a tree.”

"I suspect that they may be related to the odd branches that appeared in town,” Vincent said before raising his torch to shine further down the tunnel. “Although, we would need to follow them to make sure."

"Aren’t we looking for the core?" Quince asked.

"If my theory is right, they will lead us to it," Vincent answered as we began walking again.

"These tunnels cross each other and run deep underground. What if we get lost?" Clay asked.

“As long as we follow the roots, we should be fine," Vincent said before stopping at one of the wooden frames that were holding up the tunnels. The wood had small branches growing out from it. He said nothing as he began down the tunnel.

The ground began to slope downwards. Through the moving light of the torches, I was able to make out some old mining tools. Like last time, they were only stuck into the odd plants. Were the people back then really trying to cut them away with shovels and pickaxes? Would a normal axe or saw work better?

"Are you okay with doing this?" I heard Zero-zero whisper to Ninety-one behind me. "We don't even know if Hue is able to control the core."

"We don't have much of a choice," Ninety-one said quietly.

"Are you alright?"

"No," Ninety-one hissed under his breath. "I can't believe you took Sol to the mines, even after hearing how dangerous they are. Now, because of that were stuck out here about to be killed or who knows what."

"We didn't know if what's out there even lives in the mines," Zero-zero said defensively. "Besides, we didn't get far past the entrance last time. We were only looking around."

"That's not the point. What if something happened to you, or Sol. I'd be left alone wondering why you didn't come back," Ninety-one scolded. "What's worse is that you kept it from me. Is that what you two do, keep secrets from me because you think I can't handle it? This is just like what happened last week in Burilmont. And just like last time, either of you could have gotten killed."

I didn't bother to glance back at them as Zero-zero spoke. "I'm sorry. It was only something to pass the time."

"Yeah," was Ninety-one's only response. Silence fell over us again but the tension still lingered.

The tunnel branched out in several places. Sometimes it was in a cavern, others it was just a split path. Nearly all of them had strange roots in them. Vincent always led us down the one with the most. The roots were larger now. There were more of them too. They stuck out of the already uneven ground, making it hard to walk. It quickly got to the point where we had to struggle not to trip over them. Each path took us deeper into the darkness and further down. Whatever we were heading towards we were getting close.

Time was hard to track down here. I knew we'd been in the mines for over an hour, but were we on the second one yet? A third? Walking over the roots and rocks was difficult and exhausting.

When the tunnel opened up again it was to a cave so large that the ceiling was lost in the darkness. We all kept close to the entrance as we carefully moved our torches around to get some idea of what we had walked into, but we could see nothing but the roots leading into the endless darkness. How far down were we?

When Vincent walked out into the darkness with his torch held high, no one followed behind him. Even Ashe stayed near the tunnel. We silently watched as the fire from Vincent's torch illuminated nothing but more roots. A minute passed. Then another. Just to give myself something to do, I counted each step he took. I stopped once I realized how far he had gotten when I could only identify him by the small light of the fire.

"How far is he intending to go?" Clay's voice was hardly louder than a whisper, but it sounded much louder in the tense silence.

No one responded to Clay. Eventually, Vincent's torchlight stopped moving. I could barely make it out in the surrounding darkness, but he was standing against a wall of some sort. Whatever it was he appeared to be looking it over.

"What the hell," Quince said shakily.

She was looking at the wall next to the tunnel entrance. Like everything else, it was covered by the roots. The ones in the cave were far larger than anything of the ones we'd seen so far. They were even larger than the support beams in the mines. 

"What's wrong?" Ashe asked as he stepped toward her. She said nothing, only pointing at the wall. Ashe swore as he stopped walking.

"What happened?" Clay asked. All of us were watching the wall now.

"There are faces in the plants," Ashe said slowly, almost as if he wasn't sure of what he was saying.

"Please tell me you're joking," Clay said as the rest of us moved over to them.

Of course, it wasn't a joke. Faces were frozen into the wooden roots. They were misshapen, with some merged into each other, but they were recognizable. Faces of people, young and old, looked like they had been trying to push themselves out from the wood. Among them were also the faces of animals. Horses and dogs were the majority, with a few cats and farm animals mixed in as well.

Their faces were frozen horrifying expressions that could only be described as immense fear or pain. Hollowed out eyes stared out into the darkness around us. What couldn't have done this to them?

"Vincent!" Ashe's sudden shout made my heart jump. Startled, Honey Bun began barking. Clay was quick to try and calm her.

I looked across the darkness to where the light of Vincent's touch had been. There was nothing left but unending darkness.

"Vincent!" Ashe called again. This time he took a few steps into the emptiness.

There was no response.

"What should we do?" Quince asked quietly.

Ashe hesitated before speaking. “I’m going to go find him.”

“We need to leave this place,” Clay said.

“Where would we go?” Ninety-one asked. “It will be night soon if it isn’t already.”

“We should go back up and wait by the entrance,” Zero-zero suggested. “It would be better than staying stuck down here.”

“What about Vincent and Ashe?” Quince asked.

I watched Ashe as he began heading out into the cave. He moved carefully watching both the darkness around him and the ground. He called out to Vincent again. There was still no answer. But something did move in the blackness. A small light moved form around what looked to be a wall. It was solid white and shined a bright beam of light on the ground. The light began heading toward us.

“What is that?” Clay asked. I looked at Hue to see his reaction to the light. He was watching the light but didn’t seem bothered by it.

“It looks like a cell phone flashlight,” Quince said.

“Vincent!” Ashe called out.

“Yes,” he shouted back. Despite yelling, Vincent managed to sound uninterested. A wave of relief went through us and we waited for Vincent to return. When he rejoined us I noticed that his branch he was using as a torch had burned out.

“Where did you go?” Ashe asked.

“There are faces on the plants,” Quince said, almost talking over Ashe.

“Yes, I noticed. That is quite unsettling,” he said calmly. “As for where I was; there is what seems to be a giant tree at the center of this cave. It is covered with faces.”

“That’s great, but we should leave now,” Zero-zero told him.

“Why?” Vincent asked. His tone was soft yet lined with a sense of eagerness. “We have found what we have come all the way down here to find. That tree houses the power of the core. We finally have a chance to end all of the harm it is causing to the people in town.”

“How do we do it?” I asked.

Vincent smiled. “We will need to be near the tree first. Afterward, we will see if your pet is able to surpass and control the core’s power.”

“If that doesn't work?” Ninety-one asked.

“Then we will see if Sol is able to do it instead,” Vincent said as if it eas the simplest backup plan. “We didn’t have any other options available to us. So we might as well give it a try. If we are successful, there is a strong chance that we can help a lot of people.”

“And if it fails?“ Zero-zero asked.

“Our situation is not ideal, so why don’t we focus on what we can do for now? Focus on the positive as they say,” Vinv\cent said before stepping away from us and back to the darkness and the tree. “We should get started before it gets dark. Who knows what this place will be like when night comes.”

Everyone quietly looked between each other before following after him. Ninety-one kept close to me as we walked. It felt like he was trying to protect me from something. He was probably scared for himself as well. I was too. If we failed the core’s power would be unleashed. If that happened we would most likely die. If I find nothing we’d die too. Our only chance was to get control of the core’s power.

The tree was gigantic. The roots at its base were the size of a person, which made the faces on it all the more unnerving. The truck stretched high into the darkness of the cave, further than our lights could reach.

“Are they real?” Quince asked. “Are the faces on the tree from real people?”

“That is a strong possibility, yes,” Vincent said.

“How is that possible?” Clay asked.

“If I were to guess, I’d say that during the night the tree sprouts its roots, or branches seeing that it is above ground, to catch prey, whatever animals or people it happens to ensnare. It likely grabs them and pulls them down here. As for how it consumes them or why it doesn’t do during the day, I’m not sure. I’m only speculating. It is impossible to know the specifics on how a core will affect something,” Vincent explained.“

“What do we need to do?” Quince asked.

“I will assist Sol in getting their pet to control the core. The rest of you are free to do what you want as long as you aren’t a distraction,” Vincent said.


	14. Chapter 14

Vincent and I stood on the roots at the base of the tree. He had suggested that we sit, but I refused. I would have even if there weren't terrified faces covering everything. I held Hue in my arms. Hue was a dragon again. Although Vincent said the others could relax, they were standing not far off watching.

"We'll start with you simply instructing him to take it," Vincent said. I was hoping for more direction than that but went with it anyway.

I awkwardly held Hue out toward the tree. “Take the core from the tree.”

Hue looked up at the tree with mild curiosity but quickly lost interest. I look at Vincent for help.

“Try to be more specific,” was all he offered. His calmness about the situation was starting to unnerve me in more ways than one.

“Hue, take the core’s power from the tree.” Hue looked back at me from hearing his name but otherwise didn’t seem to have any idea about what I was asking. Why did it feel like he only understood me when he felt like it.

“Have him touch it,” Vincent said.

I reluctantly gazed over the tree and the many faces. The last thing I wanted was to get closer to any part of it. Regardless, I kneeled down and set Hue on a large root next to the trunk. “Hue-”

Something creaked from far in the cave. It was a slow noise that moved outward and around us. It got louder as it spread through the darkness. The sound of rocks moving and breaking echoed in the cave. From under my feet, the roots under shift and twitch, like an animal beginning to wake up. Far above us, faint spots of light began to appear. They got brighter as more joined them. Starting at the tap and moving inwards in a circle as more of the roots lit up.

“We’re almost out of time,” Vincent said. “Try doing it yourself.”

“But-” I started.

“Start by doing what you did with the sphere,” he said calmly. “Instead of seeing something turn into wood, try to envision the opposite.”

What did a non-wooden tree even be? I wanted to protest more but chose to at least try first. I set my hand on the tree between two faces. I started by trying to turn it into a rock. I concentrated as hard as I could manage but wasn’t able to feel anything change. I didn’t even feel the energy like I did last time.

The lights were getting closer to the point where I could see that they were emanating from the eyes and open mouths of the screaming faces. The roots holding them shifted like twitching tails. The sides of the cave were visible now. The roots covered everything to the point that the cave looked to be made of them.

“Ignore it,” Vincent said urgently. “Close your eyes and focus on the core. Feel its power and try to draw it out.”

I closed my eyes and tried again. I could see the square symbol in my head and felt the power under my palm. It was like I was too aware of myself and everything around me. I could feel the energy moving through me and the tree as well. I could see it in a way, feel how large it was. How its roots reached even further underground and how far up its branches went. The ones in town were just the very ends. How every plant was part of it. To the grass, which were more akin to leave to the tree, and the feel of crops. Every plant in the area was part of the tree.

From what I could tell, this tree sat at the center of the land. Whatever power was keeping it here had given the tree a near-perfect circle to grow in. The branches moved, growing as they emerged from under Coal Grove. I could feel it, almost see it, as they moved over the buildings, searching for the people inside. The tree could sense them. It was strong enough to break through the buildings but didn’t. The wood was once part of it, taken long ago and never to be reunited.

It was almost like I could understand what the tree wanted. Less so in words than in strong feelings. It wanted to be reunited with the lost parts of itself. But it couldn’t so it took those who took from it.

As the branches climbed over the buildings in town, the power flowed into them. With it, I could see the people inside. Some were sleeping, others stared fearfully at the walls. I could feel the tree’s anger at them for hiding in the dead parts of itself.

I could see Dixon and his father. They were sitting at a table, drinking and enjoying themselves. They sat with our things that they must have taken from the inn spread out over the table. They were picking through it like discarded loot.

My anger towards them mixed in with the tree’s. The branches around it grew, encircling the home and pressing tight against it. A small part of me wanted the tree to be able to get them. To do to them what they wanted to happen to us.

I could feel the anger in us build. It was far beyond anything I’d felt before. Anger at the sheriff and the Mayor. Anger at the people that let them take us out here. Anger at their families for using us to better themselves. For taking parts of us to use as they wished. Anger for taking from us every day only to fuel themselves. We were great and old and we would not be used like this any longer.

The lines between the buildings and the branches blurred and the anger grew stronger. A sound I couldn’t place echoed from far away as the power within us grew. We had enough of these parasites taking from us. We are tired and old and only wanted to rest. Even when we slept during the day the pain of them always taking from us was constant. These things only ever brought pain. But now the pain would stop. Now all of them would feel the pain of being taken from and used.

Our grip tightened on the former parts of ourselves. We felt stronger tonight and with that strength, we would get revenge. We started with tiny spouts that dug into the walls. Through them we let our power seep into our dead parts, reviving them. It was slow, but so too had to wait for this chance. We merged with our old parts, once again taking them in, and soon we were whole again. Almost. There were still the parts the parasites consumed. That could not be so easily retrieved, so we will take them as retribution.

Our branches grew from inside their shelters. With nowhere to hide they were easy to take, to consume. Our branches surrounded them, entrapped them in a grip strong enough to crush rock. Their bones were far less resilient. Again we extended small growths, this time into them. And we took everything back. Their strength, their energy, their lives. We would leave them nothing, just as they would eventually do to us.

When all was done the night was at its end. We could sense the burning sun even from our limited reach. It was one foe we would never defeat. Our exposed root burned and wilted as the first of the light touched us. They curled and wilted. Most falling off into round heaps before they could be returned to the ground. Yes, the sun was something we could never best. But unlike the others, it was not here to take. It did what it did not out of choice but of nature.

And like all things of nature, we were at our end. We were old. Too old have lasted for much longer anyway. If this is the day of our end then so be it. At least we get to die whole.

The light burned my eyes. The pain of it only dwarfed by the screaming. I quickly covered my ears. It sounded like thousands of voices screaming in pain. Through the intense light, I was only able to make out square symbols and they floated in my vision. It was as if they were burned into my eyes.

I tried to look around but was barely able to make out the Vincent next to me. He was on the ground covering his ears as well. What happened? In front of me, I could make out Hue crouched at my feet. He was twisted in order to hold his head in his small claws.

The screaming died and with it, the light faded. We were left in darkness, the light of the fires insufficient for our burned-out eyes as things broke around us. A shower of dirt and pebbles poured down as something fell to the ground. I began coughing as the air became flooded with dirt and dust.

When everything had finally settled I opened my eyes. Beams of sunlight shined down from the top of the cave. Several of the branches had fallen, taking large chunks of the cave ceiling with them. Thankfully, the parts that had fallen from directly above us had been caught by the lower, sturdier branches. In the light, the tree looked different than how I had seen- sensed it before. It now looked withered and old. The faces were gone, leaving behind strange screwed up knots in their place.

“Are you okay?” I heard Ninety-one ask. I didn’t realize he was that close to me. I suddenly realized that everyone was around me. They all looked concerned, borderline frightened. “Sol?”

“Yeah- yes. I’m fine,” I told him. I looked back at the light above us. “It’s already morning?”

“You had us worried,” Clay said with a relieved smile. “You hadn’t moved so much as a bit since you started touching that tree. You didn’t answer when we called you or nothing. What happened?”

I didn’t know where to start. “The tree was alive. It could think and I guess I was in its mind. It was angry at the people in town for cutting pieces of it off to build houses and other things. That’s why it attacked the town every night.”

“The tree was attacking people?” Quince said in disbelief.

“How?” Zero-zero asked. “We’re a long way from town.”

“All the plants are connected to it. The grass, crops on the farms, everything. It could feel when people would take things from it,” I explained. “All the pain and anger made it lash out and attack everyone in town. But it couldn’t do it during the day because the sun burned its branches and made the shrivel up.”

“The tumbleweeds,” Ashe said quietly.

“It didn’t break the houses because it still saw them as a part of itself. But once it managed to reunite with them, there wasn’t anything stopping it from lashing out,” I added. It was better to get this out of the way now. “I don’t think there is anyone left in town. I’m sorry. I couldn’t stop it.”

“It’s not your fault,” Ninety-one said as he pulled me into a hug. I returned it. I didn’t feel sad at the moment. I couldn’t feel much of anything right now. I was too tired. Too empty inside.

Over Ninety-one’s shoulder, I saw Clay rub his hands over his face and keep them. Next to him, Zer-zero whispered words of comfort.

“What do we do now?” Quince asked quietly.

Vincent took a heavy breath. “We need to get out of this cave. We might have to climb out if the exit is blocked. After that, we might as well leave this place and regroup with the rest of Recall. You are welcome to come with us, Clay.”

Clay only responded with a weak nod.

It was decided that we would rest for a while so I could recover and Clay could mentally sort himself. He sat away from the base of the tree with Ninety-one and Zero-zero with him, trying to do their best to comfort him. They’d also lost their homes and could easily empathize with him.

I stayed where I was, sitting with Hue in my lap. What had happened while my mind was mixed with the tree’s felt like a dream. Some parts were clear, while others blurred together. The memory hung more like a lingering emotion than a clear thought. Hopefully, it would fade like a dream too.

“Were you able to get the core?” Quince asked carefully as if she was concerned that she might upset me. It never stopped her before.

“I don’t think so, no,” I told her plainly.

“Would you be willing to try again?” Vincent asked. He was sitting across from me with Ashe at his side. He appeared to be unnerved and uncaring about the whole thing.

“Vincent-” Ashe said quietly.

“Not now and definitely not here,” Vincent said, cutting Ashe off. “But some time in the future. Someplace where your hand isn’t forced. When we have the sphere and more time to prepare. Where the odds are different and the outcome will be less traumatic.”

I wanted to tell him no. I didn’t want to do anything like that again. I wasn’t even sure I’d be able to succeed even if I was prepared. But then there was Clay who lost his home and everyone in it during the night. And Ninety-one and Zero-zero who have gone through the same thing, twice partially because of me. If I worked they would have somewhere to go. Vincent had promised us food and safety in Recall. Right now, that was our only option.

“Okay,” I said, agreeing. “I’ll try to do better next time.”


	15. Chapter 15

The exit to the cave was blocked by fallen debris, forcing us to climb the tree to get out. Thankfully, the large knots on it proved plenty of easy places to grab onto. I’d never climbed a tree before and this was the worst way to learn. We had to take a lot of breaks but even with them, it was exhausting.

What made it worse was getting Honey Bun up the tree as well. She was small enough to on the larger knots but we still had to be careful as we hand her up to each other, basically push her up from behind as we went. It became easier once we made it to the branches but it was still nerve-wracking. If she fell, there would have been little anyone could have done to help. For once I was thankful that Hue could fly.

Every part of me was hurting by the time we managed to get out of the cave. The air already burned from the heat of the sun. All of the grass was gone. The grass was gone. What little remained sat dead in small sandy colored patches. Everything else was covered with exposed dirt and stones. The land had been transformed into a desert.

Small tumbleweeds were scattered across the ground but only in our area. Only over the cave. To be safe, Vincent had us move from directly over where the cave was. Only then did we finally get a chance to rest. It was hardly relaxing with only the hard ground to sit on and dusty air to breathe. But no one complained. Anything was better than still being stuck in the cave.

The layout of the land around us had been imprinted into my mind, so I led the way. The walk back to down was a long and quiet one. No one spoke. Not that there was much to say in the first place. The plan to save Coal Grove had failed. Everyone was gone and by some miracle we were fine. Was it because we were in the mines where it hadn’t noticed us? Or because most of us were outsiders and Clay was easy to ignore at the time?

There was so much I didn’t know. About this Coal Grove. How cores worked. How I was able to see inside the tree’s mind. How a tree had a mind to begin with.

All I wanted was to go inside my library and sleep.

It must have been about midday when we finally arrived at the fence that surrounded the town. The fence looked as if it had aged by decades. The wood was cracked and posts had fallen off. The town was in a similar state. Homes and stores were decayed. Some even had roofs that had collapsed inward. Tumbleweeds covered the streets as they were kicked up by the warm wind.

There was no wasn’t a hint of any other people or animals. I already knew they were gone, but being here and seeing it, was awful. It was just like Goldsboro.

“We’ll need to get to the inn and get our belongings first,” Vincent said as he passively observed the town. “Afterwards we’ll go to Clay’s home so he can retrieve his things.”

"Shouldn't we look around for anyone first," Clay asked, desperation lining his voice.

"In my experience with things like this, there are rarely ever survivors," Vincent said solemnly. "Sol said the tree wanted all of your people gone. I doubt it would have glossed over anyone. I'm sorry."

Clay only looked away in silence.

“Our bags are in the sheriff's house,” I told them, changing the subject. When they gave me confused looks I explained. “I saw it through the tree.

“Can you lead us there?” Vincent said.

“Yeah,” I said with a nod. I had the entire layout of the city in my head. It was imprinted like an old memory.

The Dixon home was a small single-story building. It sat near the center of town, not too far from the jail and the mayor’s office. The heavy door looked rotted and lay half broken in the doorway. There were gaping holes in the ceiling and walls. There was one on the back that was large enough for us to duck in through.

The floor creaked and groaned as we walked. There were a few tumbleweeds scattered about the floor. The wooden parts of the furniture were fused to the house. Iron sconces that one held candles on the walls now sat on the splintered floor. The metal looked worn from use, but still in good condition.

Sitting next to the dining room table were our bags. A few of our clothes and a book I’d brought with me sat on the table. Next to them were glasses half-filled with an orange-brown liquid. A bottle labeled ‘whiskey’ sat between them. Despite the breeze moving through the house, the smell of alcohol hung in the air.

While we stuffed our belongings into our respective bags, Clay moved around the house. I didn’t bother to pay attention to where he went, but when he came back he had several glass bottles of water in his arms. He’d even gotten pots so Hue and Honey Bun could drink as well. The water was warm but that hardly stopped me from drinking most of it in one go. I was so worn from the last two days that I’d forgotten about being thirsty, let alone hungry.

With nothing but time on our hands, we decided to image through the kitchen for food. Apparently the Dixon’s favored jarred stew and vegetables because that’s what their cabinets were mostly filled with. Even the Howell’s had a few loaves of bread in their kitchen.

The thought of them made me lose my appetite. They were nice people who didn’t deserve what the tree did to them. But I guess the same could be said for most of the people in town. More so for their animals. Despite letting the mayor and sheriff take us to the mines, everyone here had been friendly and welcoming. They were only scared for themselves and the people around them.

I forced myself to continue eating. I sat with Ninety=one, Zero-zero, and Clay on the floor at the back of the couch. Quince had tried to sit on a chair and it nearly buckled under her weight, so we weren’t trusting any of the furniture. The only one standing was Vincent, who was opposed to sitting on the floor.

We headed to our vehicles next. On the way, we passed by the inn. Only Vincent passed it a glance. I didn’t need to look up to know the state of the empty building. I just pushed it to the back of my mind with all the other places I could never go back to.

Once we made it across town to the vehicles, we loaded our belongings into them and headed to Clay’s farm. Vincent, Ashe, and Quince went to retrieve Vincent’s truck while the rest of us headed to Clay’s farm. We were going to meet them back in the area where the vehicles were parked afterward. Clay sat in the front while Ninety-one drove and Honey Bun was in the back with Zero-zero and me.

“Would y’all mind waiting outside while I get everything together?” Clay asked.

“Of course we don’t,” Ninety-one said gently.

“Thanks, I won’t take long,” Clay said quietly when we arrived at the farm.

“Take as long as you need,” Zero-zero told him. “Tell us if you need any help.”

Clay quietly nodded as he got out of the van. I opened one of the back doors to let Honey Bun out. Together, she and Clay went into the house.

I shifted through my backpack while we waited when I came across the wooden carrot. I was sure I hadn’t kept it with me but brushed it off. I considered throwing it out of the open door. I glanced at Zero-zero. He was looking out over the former farmland. If I threw it out he might ask about it. I wasn’t sure if I was ready for him to know that I’d used the cosmic sphere yet. Maybe another day.

I stared down at the carrot in my hand, still hiding it inside my backpack, and wondered if I was able to use the power of Coal Grove’s core. I rubbed my thumb over the side of the carrot and considered testing it out. But then again maybe it was better knowing. At least for now.

When Clay returned his eyes were red and he had two large leather suitcases and a smaller bag with him. Zero-zero went out to help him load them into the van.

“Would it be alright if I sat in the back?” Clay asked. “I’d like to sit with Honey Bun.”

“Yeah, that’s fine,” Zero-zero said. “Whatever you need.”

Clay had his eyes turned downward. “I just need to do one more thing and we can go.”

Zero-zero moved to the front seat as Clay headed back inside. He was only in there for a minute or two before returning. He set Honey Bun in the back before getting in himself. When I reached out to close the door, I caught a flicker of light coming from the open door of the home as smoke began to seep out.

I sat down as the van began to move. Despite Ninety-one and Zero-zero having a clearer view of the fire, no one said anything.

Glancing up at Clay, I noticed that he had a metal U-shaped object in his hands.

“What’s that?” I asked. He took a ragged breath and I worried that trying to talk with him had been a bad move.

“It’s an old horseshoe that Carrot Stick used to wear. It was the first one I ever put on him,” Clay said shakily like he was struggling to keep his voice even. “His mother, Jack Rabbit, was the first I ever learned to ride. He got her gentleness for her.”

“I’m sorry,” I told him quietly.

“Wasn’t much you could have done,” He said quietly. He ran his hand down Honey Bun’s back, who was sitting next to him, with her head on his lap. “Was it like this for y’all?”

“For Nin- Nicolas and Oscar, yes. Where I came from wasn’t a place worth mourning over. I never had anyone besides Hue with me before them,” I told him. “Sorry, I’m not good with comforting people.”

“That’s alright. I appreciate you trying. I just need some time to cope.”

I nodded and we fell into silence. The rest of the ride was quiet, it stayed that way even after we rejoined the others. Vincent took the lead in his truck, with the van in the middle with Ashe and Quince at the rear. Leaning against the wall behind me, I did my best to relax as fatigue overtook me. I fell asleep with Hue resting in my lap.

I don’t know how long I was asleep, but it was Clay who woke me up. The van was still and the pack doors sat open. Outside I could see Ashe’s and Vincent’s vehicles parked. I stretched and followed Clay out of the van. For a moment I thought it nearly night with how dark and cool the air was. In all fairness, I was still groggy.

In reality, we were under the shadow of a massive machine. I’d only seen pictures of things similar, but it looked to be a gigantic train. It stood at least four stories tall and was made entirely out of blackened metal. The engine held a towering smokestack that wasn’t releasing any smoke at the moment. Instead of the normal wheels, it had treads that had torn up the earth under it.

“Welcome to the Train,” Vincent announced proudly. “and to Recall.”


End file.
